The Foundling
by Knightcrawler
Summary: AU, using elements from both the Comic and Evo Universe. Set nearly 17 years before 'The Demon of Bayville', the Sorceress Margali finds a strange, blue infant in a river, and tries to uncover the secrets surrounding this mysterious child.
1. Chapter 1

The Foundling

_Prologue – The Child_

It was a cold afternoon in the middle of November, when the Sorceress Margali Szardos found the child that would change her life forever. Margali had been getting water for the Szardos Circus from a nearby river, accompanied by her two small children, Stefan and Jimaine, when something splashing within the water suddenly grabbed her attention. Margali curiously made her way towards the splashing, and then noticed, to her shock and horror, that something small and furry seemed to be desperately trying not to drown. Margali sighed quietly to herself. It was not the first time that she had found evidence of people attempting to drown unwanted pets within rivers; there would always be those that did not value life, and so would try to destroy that which they did not value. With no small amount of caution, Margali picked up the small creature, and carried it to where Stefan and Jimaine were watching her curiously. Margali placed the creature on the ground, and it was only then that she was able to get a good look at the being that she had rescued. The being was naked, and obviously male, and he looked up at Margali curiously. Margali blinked as she stared at the creature uncertainly, for he was unlike anything that she had ever seen before. He was a little bigger than a cat, and completely covered in very wet, dark blue fur. He had a long, spaded tail, and curious, glowing yellow eyes. There was confusion and uncertainty within his penetrating gaze, but no fear. For a long moment, Margali merely stared at the strange being, and felt completely unsure about what she should do for the best. Then she shook her head suddenly, and realised that whatever else he may be, this creature was obviously an infant, and a very wet and very cold child that clearly needed to be dried and looked after. Margali gently dried the child on her skirt, and then wrapped him carefully in her shawl. She turned to where Stefan and Jimaine were watching her uncertainly, and showed them the strange, blue boy. "What a start in life," she said sadly, "born blue and furry, then barely surviving being drowned. It is terrible what some people are prepared to do."

Jimaine giggled, and reached towards the blue infant. "Kitty!" she said, laughing quietly.

"No, daughter, he's not a kitty," Margali said calmly.

"Then what is he?" Stefan asked, hugging his toy giraffe, Longneck, and watching the blue child cautiously.

Margali sighed, as she examined the strange blue child once more, "That, Stefan, is a very good question," she said uncertainly, "but that's not our most immediate concern. The most important question for the moment is; what should be done with this child now?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 1 – Doctor Dietrich_

Doctor Maja Dietrich had seen some strange patients since she started working as a doctor at the Szardos Circus, just over three years ago. Yet when she saw the tiny, blue patient within Margali's arms, even she had to stare at the creature in disbelief for nearly a minute before she was able to voice her concerns. "What," she asked incredulously, "is that?"

Margali stared at her angrily for a long moment, and then indicated the being in her arms. "He," she said meaningfully, "is a mutant. He is an infant, and I would like you to examine him, since that is why I pay you," she said sharply.

Maja backed away when she saw the angry look within Margali's eyes. Margali was generally a fair and just employer, but she did have a very bad temper, and Maja had learned long ago that it was definitely not a good idea to make Margali mad. Margali was also incredibly protective of her own children, Jimaine and Stefan, and, by the look in her eyes, it seemed that she felt equally protective towards this strange infant. Maja frowned, and reached for the child. Margali was right, as usual; Maja's role within the circus was to treat the sick, she was a professional doctor, paid to heal the sick and to examine patients, regardless of how unusual those patients might be. It was important that she remembered her professional ethics at all times, no matter what. Besides, this strange infant was no more of a challenge than the incident with the fire-eaters, the flaming swords and the six custard pies. She had learned the hard way that the best way to deal with unusual ailments was to simply do her best to try to cure them, and to not worry too much about how on earth those ailments had been caused. Maja gently took the child from Margali's hands, and examined him carefully. Well, whatever else he was, it was clear that he was an infant, a very young child, and therefore could not be a danger to anyone. Maja, unsure what else to do with such a strange infant, decided that she had better treat him in much the same way that she would treat any normal, human infant. She weighed him, and then shone a light into his eyes, watching closely as the child winced ever so slightly. Margali reached out and held the child's hand, and then gently whispered in his pointed ear, "Do not be afraid, little Kurti, Maja here is a doctor, she is merely examining you to see if you need help."

The infant seemed to calm down upon hearing Margali's reassuring voice, and Maja gave Margali a quizzical look. "Kurti?" she asked curiously.

Margali nodded, and stroked the infant's hand gently. "I spoke to Kurt Schindler, the clown," she explained, "it seems that Kurti here is a mutant, probably second generation, judging by his obvious mutation. I named him Kurti after him as a sort of thank-you for giving me that information."

Maja gave Margali a concerned look. "Are you sure that it was wise to name him?" she asked cautiously.

"Just do what you are paid to do," Margali replied tersely.

Maja gave Margali another concerned look, sighed, and then picked up a tuning fork. She gently tapped the tuning fork on the table, and, as it began to sound and vibrate, held it next to Kurti's ear. Kurti made a confused gurgling sound, and continued to stare at Maja for a long time. It seemed that this strange child had ears that were sharp in every sense of the word. Maja turned and looked at Margali. "Where on earth did you find him?" Maja asked, as she picked up a small, toy elephant, and moved it slowly from side to side in front of Kurti's eyes. Kurti watched the elephant, and Maja watched him carefully.

"In the river," Margali replied, "by the waterfall. He was wet, and from what I could tell, rather confused, but not in the least bit scared." Margali watched Maja as she began moving the toy elephant up and down in front of Kurti's eyes. Kurti watched the toy elephant curiously. After an a few moments of awkward silence, Margali finally asked, "How is he?"

Maja placed the toy elephant in Kurti's strange, misshapen hands, and then turned her attention back to Margali. "Honestly?" she asked. "It's difficult to tell. He seems perfectly healthy, especially considering that you found him in a river. He seems to have very sensitive hearing, so I'd advice against raising your voice too loudly or shouting whenever he is close to you, but other than that, he seems to be fine."

Margali nodded thoughtfully, and looked very relieved. "I learned the hard way, from Stefan and Jimaine, that shouting rarely solves more problems than it causes," she admitted. She turned her attention back to Kurti, who had begun chewing the toy elephant, and stroked his hand gently again. "How old do you think he is?" she asked.

Maja watched Kurti for a moment, and then sighed uncertainly. "Please try to understand, I've never examined a patient quite like this before," she said, "I would imagine that he is probably a few days old, certainly no more than a week, but it's really difficult to tell for certain."

Margali nodded again, and gave Maja a grateful smile. "Thank you for examining him," she said sincerely.

Maja merely nodded. "That's what I'm paid for," she said, giving Margali a small smile. Then she turned her attention back to where Kurti was still chewing the elephant. "Still, I'll be honest, this is little more than guesswork for me," she admitted. "I'll give him the same injections that I gave Jimaine and all the other infants I've examined since joining this circus, but honestly, you might be better off taking him to see the vet."

Margali gave Maja an infuriated look, and Maja quickly held up her hands defensively. "I'm serious," she said quickly, backing away from Margali slightly, "I'm not used to examining patients that have fur and tails and pointed ears, Vincent is, so perhaps he can help you more than I can."

Margali seemed to relax slightly upon hearing that, as she realised that it was not that Maja considered that Kurti was an animal, but simply that she understood that the circus vet had skills and abilities that were beyond Maja's own expertise. Margali gently held Kurti's hand as Maja injected a very small needle into his arm, and a moment later, Kurti began to cry.

"It is fine, my little one," Margali assured him gently, "I know that it hurts, but this will prevent you from getting sick."

Kurti merely looked at her for a long moment, and then stopped crying. Maja watched him curiously, and wondered if he could somehow understand what they were saying; after all, he was a strange enough infant that it was quite possible that he had some unusual abilities. Maja gently bandaged Kurti's arm, and then carefully handed him back to Margali. "What are you going to do with him now?" she asked quietly.

Margali hugged Kurti gently, but was careful to avoid touching the tender spot on his bandaged arm. "I was thinking of altering some of Stefan's old clothes," she said, as she carefully took the toy elephant from Kurti, and handed it back to Maja, "I've been meaning to turn them into a patchwork quilt for weeks now, but just never got around to actually doing it. That might be for the best, as all I really need to do to make them suitable for Kurti is to cut a hole in the leggings to make room for Kurti's tail." She gently held Kurti's tail towards Maja, so that she could examine it.

Maja shook her head. "That's not what I mean," she said cautiously, "I was thinking more about the long term." She sighed, and examined Kurti's tail for a long moment, before turning her attention back to Margali uncertainly. "Look, you find an infant in the river, and that means that he has to have come from somewhere. Chances are that his mother dropped him in that river."

"Well, a mother that would do that to her own child doesn't deserve to be called a mother," Margali retorted angrily. Kurti looked at her angry face for a moment, and then began to cry again. Margali tightened her grip upon him, and soothingly whispered into his pointed ear, "It is fine, my little one, I was not angry at you."

"We don't know what led to him being in that river, and until we do, we have no right to judge," said Maja reasonably.

"Well, what do you think happened?" demanded Margali quietly.

Maja sighed and shrugged. "You are a sorceress. Have you tried searching his mind to try to find out what happened?" she asked.

"Of course I have!" Margali said sharply. "And his mind is the mind of a very young child. He just wants comfort and safety and to feel secure, nothing more. I could find no image of his mother's face."

Maja stared at Kurti for a long moment. "Well, he certainly came from somewhere," she said after a rather long and awkward pause, "and that means that there's a very real chance that someone is going to come looking for him."

"Then they shouldn't have tried to drown him in that river," Margali retorted. "Whoever they are, it is clear that they are not fit to be parents of this child," she said angrily.

Maja sighed, and continued to stare at Kurti uncertainly. "Just imagine," she said quietly, "you're a teenage mother, and you've only recently discovered that you're a mutant. Your parents hate mutants, and would be the first to disown you if they were to find out that you had given birth to a mutant child. So, alone, except for your child, you run away from home. You are confused, you are scared and unsure, and in a moment of madness, you let your child fall into this river. Now, are you going to tell me that someone in this situation is a bad person?"

Margali stared at Maja for a long moment, before turning her attention back to Kurti. "No," she said quietly, "not a bad person, but certainly not the sort of person who could make a good mother. Regardless of the circumstances, the fact remains that this child was nearly drowned in a river. Anyone who would do that is clearly not a healthy caregiver for a child. That much, at least is obvious."

"I still say that we should try to find out where he came from, and why," Maja said quietly, "I can see that you are fond of him, but we have to consider what is best for the circus, and what is best for your own children. We don't want to put Stefan and Jimaine in danger because of this little one," she smiled at Kurti sadly.

"Even if he wanted to, Kurti simply can't hurt anyone, he's much too young," Margali replied.

"Still, think about the situation logically for a minute, try using your head instead of your heart," Maja said quietly, "there could well be an insane mother who is looking for her infant even as we speak, and if she was prepared to attempt to drown her own son, who knows what she would be prepared to do to your own children in her attempt to locate Kurti? After all, if she was prepared to leave her own child in the river, who knows what she would be prepared to do to a child that was not her own flesh and blood?" Maja said reasonably.

Margali stared at her angrily for a long moment, then sighed, and looked down at Kurti fondly. "I hate to admit it, but you just might be right," she said, ever so quietly, "I guess I do need to find out the secrets of Kurti's past." She looked up at Maja, and gave her a very small smile. "Tomorrow," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 2 – Family_

Margali examined Kurti critically. He was wearing some of Stefan's old clothes, as these had been altered so that they would hopefully fit Kurti. Margali smiled thoughtfully, as she saw Kurti waving his tail up and down happily. "They're a little bit big," she said, indicating Kurti's red leggings, "but if you are anything like Stefan and Jimaine, I have no doubt that you will grow into them almost before I've had a chance to blink." She smiled as Kurti looked down at his new clothes, tugged them gently, and then giggled quietly. Margali watched him carefully, and smiled silently to herself. She had considered carefully everything that Maja had said the previous day, and had grudgingly admitted that she was probably at least partially right. They had to do all that they could in order to find out the secrets of Kurti's past, for the sake of the Szardos Circus, and to ensure that Stefan and Jimaine were not endangered in any way. Unsure what exactly she should do for the best, Margali had returned to the waterfall, close to the spot where she had found Kurti, a few days ago. Margali had sat down by the river and had busied herself by altering some old clothes so that they would be a suitable fit for little Kurti. Nearby, Stefan and Jimaine were watching Margali and Kurti curiously. Margali gave them an uncertain smile. There was no guarantee that this would work, but there were times when returning to certain places or areas could help to jog memories. Sometimes, when people returned to places that had been significant to them, memories concerning the people connected with those places could be awakened, and this is what Margali was hoping would happen concerning Kurti's memories. Margali carefully lifted Kurti, and placed him very close to the river. She placed a finger upon his forehead, and smiled at him reassuringly. Perhaps now that he was safe, now that he had been fed and clothed, and seemed to be generally happy, rather than the confused and uncertain infant that she had saved from the river, maybe now she would be able to see an image of his mother's face. Margali concentrated, and tried to access any memories connected with the river, or the waterfall, or anything else that might prove to be useful. All she found was the image of falling down the waterfall, and then swimming in very cold water. Then Kurti remembered being picked up by Margali herself. Then there were thoughts of warmth and comfort. Margali smiled to herself again when she witnessed those images, but she shook her head a moment later. However flattering they may be, those images were not helping her to find the secrets of Kurti's past. _No, dear one, I want to see your mother's face_, she told him inside his mind.

Kurti blinked in confusion for a moment, and then Margali received an image of her own face, accompanied with feelings of warmth and safety.

_No, before,_ Margali tried to use her telepathy to find out about Kurti's past, _the woman who gave you comfort and warmth before._

Kurti merely stared at Margali in confusion. It seemed as if Margali herself was the only person that he associated with warmth, comfort and protection. Margali sighed quietly, and was about to try again, when she noticed that Stefan had begun to pull Kurti's tail. Margali irritably lifted Kurti above her head, out of Stefan's reach, and glared at Stefan angrily. "Don't pull his tail," she chided, "how would you like it if someone pulled your tail?"

Stefan merely stared at Margali in mute confusion, and Margali had to laugh when she saw such a serious expression upon such a young face. She placed Kurti down upon a blanket next to Jimaine, and pointed towards him, "I'm trying to find out about Kurti's mummy," she explained quietly, "I thought that, by bringing him back here, I might be able to see his memories of his mummy, but it doesn't seem to be working."

"Why Kurti mummy leave Kurti in river?" Stefan asked.

Margali sighed again. How would she explain something like that to a four year old? It was not as if she even knew the answer herself. Still, she had promised herself, when her children had been born, that she would never lie to them. That did not mean, however, that it was always necessary to tell them the whole truth. "We think that Kurti's mummy might be sick," she said, "she might need help, so we want to find her so that we can help her."

Stefan looked at Margali seriously for a long moment. "Mummy sorceress," he said, looking rather confused, "make Kurti mummy better? Big magic?"

Margali shook her head. "It is pretty easy for Mummy to mend bones or cure certain diseases, but we think that Kurti's mummy might have a sickness of the mind, and those are much more difficult to heal," she explained calmly.

Stefan stared at where Jimaine had begun to hug Kurti. Jimaine seemed to think that Kurti was some sort of toy, and she hugged him whenever possible. Margali was unsure whether her daughter realised that Kurti was a living, sentient being, or whether she thought he was simply some sort of blue and fuzzy toy. At least Kurti did not seem to mind, as he appeared to love all forms of attention and affection. Stefan pointed towards them. "We keep Kurti?" he asked.

Margali nodded thoughtfully. "For the moment at least," she said uncertainly, "we have to decide what's best for Kurti, and that means finding out about his mummy, and helping her if we can."

"Don't want lose Kurti!" Stefan said, suddenly frowning angrily.

Margali tried once more not to laugh at Stefan's serious expression. "Now, we must consider what is best for Kurti, not necessarily what is best for us," she told him calmly.

Stefan looked down, and Margali smiled at him sympathetically. She could remember how it felt to be four years old; the world was a wonderful, but incredibly scary and incredibly large place. It could be very difficult to understand the nature of reality when still so young. She sighed, and shrugged. "Well, no matter," she said at last, "I can't seem to access his memories of his mummy right now, anyway, so we'll just have to think of something else. We should be getting back to the circus anyway, there is still a great deal that needs to be done before tonight's performance." Margali picked up Kurti and Jimaine, and then indicated for Stefan to follow her back to the circus. She did not notice a rather large raven watching them, or the sad expression within its black eyes. A moment later, the raven flew above the waterfall, landed on the ground beside the water, and then changed into the form of a tall, blue woman with flaming red hair and glowing yellow eyes. She stared after Margali for a long moment, as though deciding whether or not she should follow her. Then, wiping a single tear from her eye, she shook her head sadly, before changing back into the form of a raven once more. She then flew up into the sky, and a moment later, she disappeared from sight.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 3 – Klaus_

Margali smiled quietly to herself as she carried Kurti through the circus troupe, and watched as the performers practiced their various acts. "Look Kurti," she said quietly, as she pointed to the various performers, "all of these people work for me." She indicated where the acrobats were rehearsing their routines, where the clowns were practicing their timing, and where the sword-eaters were busy polishing their swords. She quietly explained to Kurti that the circus was almost never still and silent, as there was always something that needed to be done, whether it was rehearsing for the night's performance, or looking after the many animals and children that travelled with the circus troupe. She explained that almost everyone, from practically the youngest to practically the oldest, had to contribute to the effective running of the circus, and told Kurti that even Stefan had to perform simple fetching and carrying tasks. Margali explained that the circus simply would not survive unless just about all of its members were prepared to contribute to its upkeep.

Margali sighed quietly to herself, and examined the circus critically for a long moment. She could not deny that circus life could be harsh sometimes, as she saw young Klaus dutifully shovelling horse dung, while three other youths teased him and laughed at him. Margali sighed again and shook her head angrily. Klaus Schneider had joined the circus when he ran away from home, just over three weeks ago. He had confided in Margali that he had always considered that there was a certain mystique about joining the circus, but then he admitted that he had quickly discovered that circus life could actually be surprisingly hard work. Klaus was currently muttering curses under his breath, and Margali noticed, as she looked down at his hands, that they were covered in blisters. One of the other boys suddenly grabbed his shovel, and pointed it at him accusingly. "Look at Klaus here," he said jeeringly, "he runs away from home in the hope of finding fame and fortune, but instead ends up covered it dung!"

"Give that back, Hans you're not funny," said Klaus, pointing towards the shovel.

Hans leaned on the shovel and grinned at Klaus mockingly. "Make me," he said.

Margali came up behind Hans, and tapped him angrily on the shoulder. He turned around, and nearly jumped in fright when he saw little Kurti in her arms. Margali grinned at Hans meaningfully. "I would suggest that you return that shovel to Klaus, right this minute, in order to avoid getting into serious trouble with the person in charge of this circus," she told him sternly.

"Right, yes, sorry," Hans said, looking down and handing the shovel back to Klaus, "I was just teasing him, no harm done, sorry."

"Very good," said Margali, and then turned her attention to his two companions, "Haven't you got any work to do?" she demanded.

"Right, yes," one of them said, and a moment later, both of them had vanished into the crowded circus. Margali turned her attention back to Hans; "And that goes for you, too," she added, "and if you haven't, I will be more than happy to find something valuable for you to do."

"Right, sorry Margali," he replied, before running after his two friends.

Margali sighed again, and turned her attention back to where Klaus was smiling at her uncertainly. "Thank you," he said gratefully.

"Just ignore them, they're just looking for someone to tease," Margali told him, as she examined him thoughtfully. There would always be those who would run away from their old lives, and hope to make a new life by joining a circus troupe. Indeed, Margali's own great-grandfather had done exactly that, if the tales her own grandfather had told her were to be believed. Mostly, people ran away and joined a circus after there had been some sort of row or conflict within their own families and home environments. These people nearly always returned back to their old lives once they came to realise that circus life was actually a lot of hard work, rather than being nothing but trapeze artists and applause. However, there were also those who joined the circus in order to escape from abusive or neglectful families. People from that sort of troubled family background hardly ever complained about having to contribute to the upkeep of the circus, and usually became, in time, vital and productive members of the circus troupe.

Then there was Klaus. Margali was not quite sure what to make of his history. Klaus had enjoyed fifteen years with a loving and accepting family, that was, until his mutant power had manifested. Klaus had discovered that he was able to change into the form of a wolf, and the moment he did so, his anti-mutant family had disowned him. From what Margali had gathered, there had been a huge row, and Klaus had been thrown out of his house. His parents had apparently told him that they never wanted to see him again, and so Klaus, clearly stressed and confused, had run away and joined the Szardos Circus. Klaus was, however, still not used to circus life, and Margali had to admit that she was unsure if he would ever learn to adjust to living and working within the circus environment.

Margali looked at Klaus worriedly. "How are you?" she asked.

Klaus shrugged, and sighed. "I'm fine, I guess," he said uncertainly, and then indicated his shovel, "I guess I'm just not very good at this," he admitted.

Margali nodded understandingly, and put a reassuring hand upon his shoulder. "Hans and the others have known nothing but circus life," she told him quietly, "they do not appreciate how difficult it can be, at times, to adjust to a new way of life."

Klaus gave her a small smile. "I am trying," he told her sincerely.

Margali nodded again. "I know," she assured him, "the sad truth is; all circus folk need to be productive and work hard, if the circus itself is going to survive. This is not a charity, if the circus does not earn enough money, we don't eat; it is as simple as that."

Klaus looked at her worriedly. "It's not as bad as that, is it?" he asked uncertainly.

Margali sighed, and gave him a small, reassuring smile. "No, not yet," she admitted, "we're managing to earn enough to cover cost and food, just. We could probably afford to have one bad show, two at the most. If it gets much worse, I will have to get rid of people from the circus, and I really don't want to let anyone go. Everyone within this circus more than carries their own weight."

"Except me," Klaus muttered guiltily.

"It can take time to adjust," Margali assured him, and then indicated the pile of dung, "believe me, you are not being punished, even if it may seem like that, sometimes. I will not ask you to do anything that I have not done myself. The sad truth is, not every aspect of circus life is glamorous."

"I know that now," said Klaus, giving her a weak smile.

Margali smiled at him again, and indicated Kurti in her arms. "I need your help concerning this little one," she told Klaus, "I seem to have discovered a mystery. I believe that the nose of a wolf might help me to solve this mystery."

Klaus grinned happily, clearly feeling suddenly elated that his mutant power might prove to be an asset rather than a liability. "Of course," he said, "I'd love to help." He grinned at Margali mischievously. "Whatever you want me to do, it has to be better than shovelling dung," he said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note – Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or added me to their favourites/author alerts. It makes all the time and energy I've spent working on this thing worthwhile to know that there are people who are enjoying reading this story. XxrockyxX – glad you like Klaus, I'm always worried when writing original characters for fan fictions, worried that people will end up hating them (after all, it's the canon characters that people are generally interested in reading about), but so far, those reading my stories seem to quite like them, for which I am very grateful. There will be a number of original characters within this story, and some of them, such as Klaus, will even get a bit of background and be involved in a sort of subplot. However, I want to keep the main focus of the story upon Margali trying to find the secrets of Kurt's past, and the conflict that Kurt unwittingly causes within her circus. **

**I am starting my PhD at the end of this month, so may not be able to update this story as often as I would like. I will try to update at least once a month, but with a PhD, two jobs, and various other commitments, I might not be able to finish this for some time. That doesn't mean that I've forgotten this story, and I will return and finish it (assuming I'm not run over by a bus or something equally as extreme within the next few months). I wanted to reach 100,000 words from all of my stories before my birthday tomorrow (no, I won't tell you how old I am; I will, however, tell you that I share my birthday with the late, great Jim Henson) and before I start my PhD on Monday. I will try to update some time in October, assuming I'm not too busy with college and other commitments. Now on with the story;**

_Chapter 4 – The Wolf Within_

Margali led Klaus to the river where she had found Kurti, several days before. She pointed towards the waterfall, and then indicated where Kurti was sleeping peacefully in her arms. "I found him near there," she explained, "at first I thought it was a dog or a cat that someone had attempted to drown, but instead I found this little one, and have tried to uncover the secrets of his past ever since." She smiled at Klaus, and shrugged uncertainly. "So far, I have had very little success in uncovering this mystery," she admitted.

"And you want me to try to find the scent of the one who dropped him?" Klaus asked uncertainly, examining the river, and then turning his attention back to the strange, blue infant in Margali's arms.

Margali sighed. "I'm not entirely sure what I expect you to scent," she admitted, "right now, Kurti's a mystery, and one way to investigate a mystery is to examine the places associated with that mystery. Maja is afraid that people will come searching for Kurti, and that, once they find us, they might misinterpret our intentions, and think that we have harmed him. She's also afraid that the circus might be indirectly placed in danger because of Kurti, and she is not the only one to have these concerns." Margali smiled at Klaus. "You have a power, a gift, and one that might prove useful in uncovering this mystery. Since this is where I found Kurti, this would seem to be a reasonable place to try to find a scent that is connected to him in some way. I want to find out about his parents, about those that left him here. Right now, I really don't know what to make of Kurti's past." She smiled at Klaus again. "That's why I need your help. Change into a wolf and sniff around here, then tell me what you can smell. Any clue, no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be, could potentially be of value." She pointed towards Kurti again. "Take a whiff of him, if you think it will help, then try to match his scent to the scent of another who passed by this way. I suspect that it was his parents who dropped him, but I intend to take Maja's advice and reserve judgement, for the moment at least."

Klaus nodded thoughtfully, and then concentrated upon his mutant power. He slowly changed into the form of a wolf, and found the transformation far less difficult and traumatic than it had been the first time that his mutant power had manifested. Back then, it had been involuntary and very stressful, and it had been the main reason why he had joined the Szardos Circus, after his parents had disowned him. It was only within the circus environment that he had learnt that his power was neither evil nor a punishment for some real or perceived misdeed. Indeed, Margali had told him that she had met many mutants, some of which had possessed powers and abilities that were not that different from his own mutant abilities, and that mutants were just people, no more good or bad than anyone else, but people with certain abilities and skills that other people did not possess. Within the Szardos Circus, Klaus had slowly learnt how to control his mutant power. When he first joined the circus, he had only been able to change into the form of the wolf when he was stressed or confused, but this had soon changed when he met the strong man, Shiro Koyo. Shiro had taught him how to control his mutant ability, had shown him that it was possible to control when and where he transformed into a wolf, and also how to control his transformation back into human form once more. Shiro was easily the strongest man that Klaus had ever met, able to lift Klaus easily using just one hand. He was also one of gentlest, kindest and nicest people Klaus had ever known, a gentle giant who loved nothing more than to tell stories to children about his native Japan, or to give guidance and counselling to those who came to see him, seeking his advice and wisdom. Shiro had known many mutants in his youth, before he left Asia and came to Europe, and he had often helped these mutants to control their powers and abilities. With patience and calm encouragement, he had shown Klaus that it was possible to transform into a wolf by simply calming his breathing, relaxing, and concentrating upon thinking like a wolf.

As Klaus examined Kurti closely, he remembered the lessons that Shiro had given to him, and felt his body change shape, grow fur, and become lupine. The wolf lived in a world of smells, and it could be almost overwhelming to suddenly experience this strange, overpowering world of scents, but Klaus had changed into wolf form enough times now that he was no longer completely disturbed by the strength of the wolf's abilities. He sniffed Kurti, but this was hardly necessary. He could smell the grass growing, the river, and the fish within the river. Kurti's scent was so strong, to the nose of a wolf, that Klaus would have been able to identify his scent from miles away with little difficulty. Still, there was no reason to take chances, and he wanted to be completely sure that he had the right scent. He sniffed the air, trying to detect any indication of Kurti's scent lingering on the breeze. It seemed likely that the scent would be more subtle, now that it had been several days since Kurti had apparently been abandoned. Nevertheless, there should still be the faint scent of Kurti's parents, or of another that shared Kurti's scent. Klaus sniffed the air again, trying desperately to identify anything that could help him. There was a very faint Kurti-scent by the bank of the river, doubtlessly the place where Margali had first examined Kurti once she had rescued him, but Klaus could not seem to detect the scent of any other human that shared Kurti's unique scent. Klaus growled in frustration, and sniffed the air once more. There were countless other scents on the breeze, the smell of squirrels and pine trees, the smell of the falling autumn leaves and the scents of the various birds, including sparrows, starlings and ravens, as they flew from tree to tree, or landed on the ground by the river. Klaus growled in frustration again. So many scents, but not one of them any help, all of them lacking the distinctive Kurti-scent that he was so desperately trying to locate.

Klaus sniffed the air once more, deciding that he should try to identify any human scents, amongst the plethora of different smells. There was the scent of Margali, of course, and her two children, Jimaine and Stefan. There was also the scent of Kurti himself; the nose of a wolf could tell easily that Kurti was entirely human, despite his rather unique physical appearance. Shiro had explained that the wolf within Klaus could often tell the truth of a situation, even when the human side of him could not. Klaus suspected that Shiro had been right, as he had quickly discovered that the sharp nose of a wolf could often provide a much more accurate depiction of the world as it really was, rather than the inaccurate human world of sights and prejudices. Klaus sniffed the air again, but still could not find any evidence of another human being that shared Kurti's unique scent. Klaus sniffed nearer the waterfall, and realised that a couple of young lovers had stopped and chatted near there, three or four days ago, and that they had kissed each other as they waded into the river. There was also the scent of an artist who had decided to paint a picture of the waterfall, about a week ago. Klaus could smell the scent of his paints, his canvas, and his paintbrushes. There were countless potentially interesting scents that provided Klaus with a great deal of information, but unfortunately, there was no scent that gave him any information concerning Kurti's past. Klaus sniffed the water near the waterfall once more, hoping to find any scent that might provide him with any information connected in any way to Kurti's unique scent. Feeling more than a little frustrated, Klaus sniffed the air again, but was still unable to detect anything useful; just the scent of the sparrows and the ravens that were flying overhead. Desperately, he once more sniffed the grass, and the trees, but still, there was no indication of the uniquely Kurti-scent, and Klaus growled in frustration at his lack of success.

Remembering what Shiro had taught him concerning controlling his mutant power, Klaus tried to relax and calm his breathing. He then concentrated on thinking like a human, and felt himself slowly transform back into human form. Suddenly, the world of scents seemed to drift away, and smells became so faint that he could barely notice them. He smiled at Margali apologetically. "I'm sorry," he said sadly, "I tried; I really did. All I could smell were birds and squirrels and the smell of autumn on the breeze. There were human smells, people who came this way several days ago, but none of them shared Kurti's scent, and I'm fairly sure that they had no connection to him."

Margali sighed, and smiled at Klaus sympathetically. "Never mind," she said, sounding rather resigned, "I did not know whether or not it would work, but thought it was at least worth a try." She smiled at Klaus gratefully. "Thank you for trying, anyway," she said.

Klaus returned her smile. "Sorry," he said again.

"Perhaps it is to be expected," Margali said, looking at Klaus thoughtfully, "you are still not entirely used to your mutant ability, have still not completely adjusted to being able to transform into a wolf. Perhaps you cannot, as yet, detect subtle scents, the way a true wolf can."

Klaus shook his head. "I don't think so," he said uncertainly, "as a wolf, all scents around here seemed to be really strong, but I just could not detect anyone who shared Kurti's scent."

Margali turned her attention back to Kurti, and examined him silently for a long moment. "Well, it was worth an attempt," she said after a long and rather awkward pause, "but I'm still no closer to uncovering the mystery of this little one's past. What should be done now?" she asked uncertainly, and then sighed. "I guess I will just have to find some other way to try to uncover this mystery."

"I really am sorry that I couldn't help," said Klaus sincerely.

Margali nodded, and smiled at him reassuringly. "No blame," she told him sincerely, "and thank-you for trying. Now I'll just have to find another way to discover the secret of Kurti's past."

Without another word, Margali led Klaus back to the Szardos Circus, Kurti still sleeping peacefully in her arms. None of them noticed as a rather large raven flew above their heads, and watched them with interested and unusually intelligent beady eyes. The raven landed upon a tree, and moved her head from side to side, as though unsure and conflicted about what she should do for the best. Suddenly, she took to the air, flying high above them, watching them curiously as they eventually returned back to the circus. Unnoticed, the raven landed upon the roof of Margali's caravan, and watched her for a long moment, before bowing her head sadly. The raven then flew off in the direction of the one person who might be able to help her decide what she should do for the best concerning the welfare of her infant son.


	6. Chapter 6

**Apologies for not updating sooner. College is going well, but it is a lot of work, meaning that I can't always update this story as often as I would like to. Don't worry, I do intend to update this story at least once a month if at all possible, and I thank you all for your patience and understanding. Secondly, ****Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/added me to their favourite list/added me to their author alerts, it means a great deal to me to know that there are people who are reading and enjoying my stories. **

**In this chapter, I diverge slightly from the comic continuity, as events within this chapter are closer to the **_**Evo**_** version of events. This chapter is especially connected to the **_**X-Men Evolution**_** episode **_**Shadowed Past **_**and also to my other story, **_**The Demon of Bayville**_**, especially **_**Chapter 14 -**__**Shadowed Past. **_

**Now, on with the next chapter;**

_Chapter 5 – The Magic Mirror_

Mystique, still in the form of a raven, flew towards a small, dark antique shop. She landed upon a wooden sign, which had the words 'The Cauldron' written in ornate and rather old-fashioned lettering upon it. Cautiously, she peered through the rather dusty window and saw the owner, Wolfgang Caliburn. He was busy polishing what appeared to be a crystal ball. He did not look up, or turn around, as he grinned knowingly to himself. "Good evening Mystique," he said politely, "I trust you are well."

Mystique opened the window with her beak, hopped inside the rather dusty shop, and a moment later changed into the form of a rather attractive woman with blue skin and red hair. She nodded at Wolfgang briefly, before critically examining the shop. She knew The Cauldron very well, for it was aptly named. The Cauldron was a place that seemed to be a melting pot of all manner of questionable merchandise, much of it rare and magical, a lot of it dubiously legal at best. For the right price, just about anyone could buy just about anything, and no questions would be asked. Antique shops like The Cauldron were therefore very useful to Mystique, since she had long ago learned that she could obtain just about anything that she required from these types of establishments. There were rumours that Wolfgang was able to travel between worlds in order to obtain his more exotic merchandise, and although Mystique was sceptical about these rumours, she could not deny that Wolfgang did seem to be able to obtain items that were not available elsewhere. She gave Wolfgang a cautious look as she sat down upon an antique, wooden chair. She regarded Wolfgang sceptically, as he continued to polish the crystal orb. Wolfgang had a long, grey beard and cunning, light blue eyes. He wore dusty robes that were decorated with silver stars and golden moons, and he wore a pointed black hat upon his head. He put down the crystal orb upon a shelf, and turned his full attention towards Mystique. "It has been too long since you last ventured into my humble establishment, Ms Darkholme," he said. "May I get you anything?"

Mystique regarded him sceptically for a long moment. "How did you know it was me?" she asked cautiously.

Wolfgang chuckled quietly to himself. "Who else would enter my humble domain in the form of a raven?" he asked.

"Who indeed?" Mystique replied. "I have experienced much in the last few months, but I assume that you know that already, or else you would not be Wolfgang. So how have you been, these last few months?"

Wolfgang's cunning blue eyes seemed to shine with mischief. "Oh, you know how it is," he said, "I have to travel a great deal in my business. Much of my merchandise cannot be obtained via more traditional channels." He grinned at Mystique knowingly.

"You know as well as I that I don't care from where you obtain your goods," said Mystique dismissively, "as long as you are able to acquire what I need."

"Ah," said Wolfgang, giving Mystique a knowing smile, "so, as I suspected, this is not a social visit. How may I help you this fine evening?"

There was a moment of awkward silence in which Mystique stared at Wolfgang uncertainly. "You know much more than you are letting on, you old fool, don't think that I'm not aware of that," she said sharply, "I want to know everything that you know about the Sorceress Margali Szardos."

Wolfgang gave her a thoughtful look, and rubbed his beard absently. "Margali," he said, "now there's someone I haven't seen in here for a very long time. She used to come and see me before her children were born, when she had little choice but to do business with me, since she knew that I was the only one who could provide her with certain exotic, magical items." Wolfgang laughed quietly to himself. "I don't think she ever really trusted me," he admitted.

"Then she is at least not completely stupid," Mystique snapped back, "only a complete fool would ever trust you."

Wolfgang laughed again. "How very true," he said, grinning at Mystique playfully, "but regardless of whether you trust me or not, those who practice the more," he paused, as though considering his words carefully, "exotic crafts often find that I am the only one who can obtain that which they require."

"How very true," Mystique said, "otherwise you would have gone out of business years ago. But right now, all I want is information; tell me everything you know about Margali Szardos."

Wolfgang shrugged, and grinned at Mystique again. "She is the oldest daughter of Greta and Josef. She is the mother of Stefan and Jimaine, and the wife of Tonino, although from what I have been able to tell, their marriage is unlikely to last very long."

"And?" Mystique demanded impatiently.

"And she currently has your son," Wolfgang finished, "and I take it that is what you wanted to discuss with me."

"So you know," Mystique replied, watching Wolfgang curiously. She knew better than to ask how he knew about her son. When one lived the life of Wolfgang, survival often depended upon knowing as much as possible about others, in order to avoid quite literally having a knife in the back. Wolfgang had managed to survive into old age by knowing a great deal about other people, and being willing to sell just about anything, including information, to those that were prepared to pay his price. Only a fool would ever trust Wolfgang, but that did not mean that he could not be useful, and Mystique suspected that he could provide her with a great deal of information concerning her son.

"Yes, I know," said Wolfgang, "the question is; what is it that you want from me now?"

For a moment, Mystique turned her attention to the rather dusty window, and her expression was suddenly genuinely sad. "Will she hurt him?" she asked, trying desperately to keep her tone of voice calm, and not quite succeeding.

Wolfgang raised his eyebrows sceptically. "You mean you actually care what happens to him?" he asked curiously.

"Caring makes you weak, and you and I both know that I am far from weak," Mystique replied, glaring at Wolfgang accusingly, "I just want to know what will happen to my son."

Wolfgang nodded, and smiled at Mystique knowingly. "Ah, of course," he said, "just to satisfy your curiosity, nothing more, is that correct?"

"Just tell me what you know," Mystique demanded angrily.

Wolfgang nodded, and gave Mystique a surprisingly reassuring smile. "Don't worry," he said, "Margali has not hurt your son, and she does not intend to harm him in any way. Can't say for sure about the rest of the Szardos Circus, though," he added.

"What do you mean?" Mystique demanded curiously.

Wolfgang sighed, and shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, there's been a great deal of talk ever since Margali brought him back to the circus with her," he explained, "and some of the circus folk are worried that your son will cause problems for their circus. They are worried that his parents will come searching for him, and that they will harm the Szardos Circus in order to get him back," he gave Mystique a questioning look.

Mystique folded her arms across her chest, and glared at Wolfgang. "Go on," she demanded.

Wolfgang grinned at Mystique, shook his head, and walked towards a rather ornate, wooden trunk in the corner of the shop. He lifted the lid, and began to rummage within the trunk, as though searching for something.

Mystique narrowed her eyes angrily. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "I am still talking to you!" she growled.

"Looking for something that will help to answer all of your questions," Wolfgang replied. Then he lifted up a rather small, hand-held mirror, which he brought towards Mystique. "This mirror should be able to alleviate all of the fears you have concerning the welfare of your son."

Mystique narrowed her eyes. "If this is some sort of a trick," she said menacingly, "some kind of joke..."

Wolfgang put his hands up defensively. "It's no trick, it's no joke," he interrupted quickly. "That is a magic mirror. It shows only the truth. It shows the past, and also what is happening at this very moment, far away. You can use it in order to find out about your son."

Mystique examined the mirror sceptically. "So what exactly is it supposed to do?" she demanded.

"Just ask it to show you what you want to know, and it will show you," Wolfgang assured her.

Mystique gave Wolfgang a sceptical look, but then turned her attention back to the mirror. She held it out in front of her. "Show me the Sorceress Margali Szardos," she said.

There was a brilliant flash of white light from the mirror, and a moment later, it showed Mystique Margali, who was holding Mystique's child in her arms. Margali's own children were by her side, watching as their mother spoke to a person that Mystique assumed must be their father.

"So it's true," the man said, pointing towards the blue infant within Margali's arms, "all this talk about a strange, foundling child."

"Yes, it's true," Margali replied, holding the child close to her, "I found little Kurti in the river by the waterfall."

"Kurti?" the man asked sceptically.

"I called him Kurti after Kurt the clown," she explained, "he told me that little Kurti here is a mutant."

The man shook his head uncertainly. "Margali, do you think that was wise?" he asked. "Naming the child, I mean. We don't know where it came from, and you really don't want to get too attached to it."

"So you think I should just call Kurti 'him' or 'it' or 'the infant', is that what you mean?" Margali demanded angrily.

"No, I think you should get rid of it as soon as possible," he replied.

Margali glared at him. "How dare you Tonino," she said angrily.

Tonino put up his hands defensively. "Listen to me, Margali, beloved," he said quietly, "we have children of our own, young children, and I don't want to put them in danger just because of some foundling you found by the waterfall. Our own children must come first."

"And they do," Margali assured him, "always."

Tonino folded his arms across his chest, and gave Margali a sceptical look. "Oh really?" he asked. "It seems to me that you've spent so much time recently trying to deal with that thing that you have neglected your own children."

"That's not fair," Margali replied sharply, "I have always ensured that Sabu or Shiro or someone else responsible has been looking after Stefan and Jimaine while I've been trying to uncover the mystery surrounding this little one." She pointed towards Kurti, and then turned her attention back towards Tonino. "Can you really accuse me of abandoning our own children?"

Tonino looked down, and suddenly seemed to be rather ashamed. He shook his head, and sighed. "No, you are right about that, at least," he admitted grudgingly, "Stefan and Jimaine have always been cared for, no matter what." He looked up at Margali, and pointed towards Kurti. "But I'm still worried that that little one will cause trouble for our family and our circus," he said.

"Kurti's an infant," Margali said calmly, "even if he wanted to hurt anyone, he's much too small, too young. You don't need to worry about him."

"I'm not so sure," Tonino said sceptically, "you've heard the stories about the changelings, haven't you? Children left by the fair folk, while they steal real children from people, which they take back to their own land."

"You and I both know that that's just a myth," Margali said dismissively.

"Bit of arbitrary scepticism there, Margali," said Tonino wryly, "we both know that magic and mutants are real, who is to say that changelings are not also real?"

"Me," Margali replied sharply, "I've looked inside Kurti's mind. I can assure you that he is human. He's a mutant human, but still completely human."

"I thought mutants weren't supposed to develop their mutant powers until they reached their teens," Tonino replied, staring at Kurti sceptically. "I've never heard of a mutant developing his powers before the age of thirteen."

"Well, I've known mutations to manifest at twelve," Margali replied, "but I do understand your point." Margali shrugged her shoulders uncertainly. "I guess that it is unusual for a mutant to develop his power in infancy," she glared at Tonino defiantly, "unusual, certainly, but that does not mean that it can never happen, and it certainly does not mean that Kurti is not a mutant."

Tonino stared at Kurti for a long moment, before turning his attention back to Margali, and giving her a small smile. "Look, I'm not the only one that's worried about what will happen if we keep him here," he said, his tone reasonable, "we don't want someone to come looking for him, endangering our own family in order to find him."

Margali shook her head, and pointed towards where Stefan and Jimaine were watching them uncertainly. "I guarantee you that I will not put our family in any danger, no matter what," she said, "but I won't abandon Kurti; I could not do that, not now."

"No one wants you to abandon him," Tonino assured her, "but that doesn't mean that he has to stay here, in our circus."

"What are you suggesting?" Margali asked sceptically.

Tonino sighed, and pointed towards Kurti. "Just give him to an orphanage or something," he suggested, "his welfare is, after all, not our responsibility,"

Margali glared at Tonino, and tightened her grip on Kurti. "No one," she said angrily, "is going to give Kurti to an orphanage."

Tonino held up his hands defensively. "I know that you've heard bad things about those places, and some of what you've heard is no doubt justified," he began, "but not all orphanages are run by cruel people. Some orphanages can be quite pleasant, and there's no reason why Kurti could not grow up happy and healthy within one of those places."

Margali glared at Tonino for a long moment, and then shook her head defiantly. "Look, the very best scenario would be an orphanage that was staffed by people who were genuinely dedicated to their job, who cared about the children within their institution, and did all that they could to help them to grow and to develop," she said quietly, "but even within that scenario, the staff could not possibly give all of the children within their orphanage all of the care and attention that they deserved. They would need to make compromises, in order to ensure that all of those under their care were safe, and at the very least, had all of their essential needs met." Margali sighed, and looked down at Kurti fondly. "Look, I am the oldest of five, and although our parents were always kind and loving, we always felt that they were too busy to give us as much attention as we wanted. Even the best orphanage would be much, much worse than that," she shuddered slightly, "and as for the other orphanages, the less pleasant ones, I can hardly bring myself to consider what they might do to poor little Kurti here."

Tonino looked like he was about to reply, when he was interrupted by Klaus running towards them. "I'm a little early, sorry," Klaus said, glancing between Margali and Tonino nervously, "um, you wanted me to look after the children this evening, but I can come back a bit later if now is not a good time." He smiled at Margali uncertainly.

"No, your timing could not be more perfect," said Margali, giving Tonino a determined look, as though daring him to disagree. "I don't like it when the children have to watch their parents arguing," she said. She turned her attention back to Klaus, and reached inside her basket. She removed a book of bedtime stories. "They are allowed one story before they go to sleep, no more, no matter how much they protest. You will find food and everything else you need within the caravan." Then she gently placed Kurti in Klaus' hands, and ushered Klaus, Jimaine and Stefan inside her caravan hurriedly. She shut the door behind her, and turned her attention back to Tonino. She gave him a small smile. "I really don't like it when they see us fighting," she said.

Tonino nodded, and returned Margali's smile. "I know, I understand," he said, placing a reassuring hand upon her shoulder, "but we really do need to sort this out."

"Right," said Margali, "orphanages. Do you really think that someone who looks like Kurti won't be teased and ridiculed for the way he looks?" she asked.

"All children have to face that," Tonino said dismissively, "whether for the clothes they wear or the colour of their hair or some other stupid thing. Children can be cruel."

"How very true," Margali sighed, "but within the circus, things tend to be better, most of the time at least. Circus folk are in a sense allowed to be a bit different; those who are quirky and unusual are indeed often celebrated for their uniqueness. Kurti could thrive, here within our circus, he could learn that his uniqueness is something to be proud of, a great gift, rather than something that he should feel ashamed of, something he feels should be hidden away."

Tonino looked thoughtful for a moment, and was clearly about to respond to Margali's comment, when Klaus suddenly came rushing out of the caravan, and stared at Margali and Tonino worriedly. "Um," he said uncertainly, "Kurti's hanging from the ceiling!"

Margali and Tonino exchanged bewildered looks, and then curiously followed Klaus inside the caravan. They both stared up at where Klaus was pointing. Kurti was crawling along the ceiling of the caravan, and laughing happily to himself. Jimaine was watching him and laughing, and Stefan had a rather confused expression upon his face as he stared up at Kurti. There was a moment of awkward silence, and then the magic mirror within Mystique's hands suddenly became black.

Mystique stared at the mirror curiously for a long moment, but it remained blank. "She seems to really care about him," she said at last, her tone intentionally neutral.

Wolfgang nodded. "As you saw, there's a lot of talk in the circus about what should be done about him," he said, "but I don't think Margali's going to let him go without a fight, and why should she? Your son could have a happy and healthy life, growing up within a circus environment."

Mystique scowled angrily. "I don't want my son growing up to be a carnival freak," she said.

Wolfgang gave her a curious look, and shook his head sadly. "Then what do you want for your son?" he asked her quietly. "Do you want him to grow up with you? The son of a terrorist? Is that really the life that you want for your child?"

"What right have you to criticise me?" Mystique demanded. "He is my child, not Margali's, not yours."

Wolfgang sighed, and gave Mystique a surprisingly sympathetic look. "But look at what's already been done to him," he said quietly, "changed by Magneto, his mutation developed much too early, then lost and almost drowned."

Mystique looked down, her yellow eyes suddenly sad. "It was not my fault," she said quietly, "the wolves that followed us, they had been changed somehow. They were more like dogs, loyal to their owner Magneto, desperate to do whatever he wanted. They would not leave me alone. I could not escape from them as long as I wore this form," she indicated her body. "I changed into a raven in order to try and escape. I never meant to leave him behind."

Wolfgang shrugged, and stroked his beard. "What does any of that matter to an infant?" he asked. "What happened, happened, that cannot be denied," he gave Mystique another sympathetic look. "Can you be sure that something similar will not happen again?" he asked her quietly.

Mystique looked down, and shook her head slowly. "There are no guarantees," she said quietly.

Wolfgang nodded, and smiled at Mystique sympathetically. "The life that you would give to your son would be harsh," he told her gently, "perhaps too harsh for him. The life that Margali can offer him might not be the sort of life you had envisioned for your son, might even be tougher than many lives; I know Margali, and I know that she can be strict sometimes," he gave Mystique a reassuring smile, "but he will be cared for, and he will be loved. In the end, is that not what every parent wants for their children?"

Mystique continued to look down sadly, and sighed quietly. Wolfgang continued, "In some ways, the Szardos Circus is much like a family, everyone knows everyone else, and works together to achieve their goals. It could also be compared to a hunter-gatherer tribe, I suppose," he said thoughtfully.

Mystique gave a little laugh. "Except that they don't do any hunting or gathering," she said.

Wolfgang laughed, and stroked his beard once more. "That's technically not true," he said, "they've been known to gather blackberries and wild mushrooms at times, and some of the younger performers have even been known to hunt wild boar, so I guess they could be called a hunter-gatherer tribe."

Mystique gave a little laugh again, and then stared at the magic mirror for a long moment, before wordlessly handing it back to Wolfgang.

Wolfgang shook his head, and pointed towards the mirror. "No, you keep it," he said.

Mystique gave him an uncertain look. "What are you planning?" she demanded.

"What, I have to always be planning something?" he asked playfully. "Sometimes I'm simply being pragmatic and sensible. I know full well that if I don't give it to you, you'll simply find a way of taking it from me, anyway, perhaps killing me in the process," it was not entirely a joke, "better that I give it to you now, it will save everyone time and effort and bloodshed." He smiled at Mystique again. "Use it. Keep a watchful eye upon your son, watch him grow and develop into a man. Don't interfere with his life, unless the need is very great, let him learn his own way and make his own mistakes," he told her quietly, "that is, if you really do care about your son."

Mystique stared at him quietly for a long moment, and then sighed, and nodded, before turning back into the form of a raven once more. She picked up the mirror using her beak, and flew out of the window of The Cauldron, and away into the evening sky.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/added me to their favourite list/added me to their author alerts, it means a great deal to me to know that there are people who are reading and enjoying my stories. SuperGirlGwenRose – you're right, I did use 'rather' (giggle) rather a lot in the last chapter. This just demonstrates the importance of checking over your work, as it's so easy to miss little things like that. Glad you are still enjoying the story. Now on to the next chapter;**

_Chapter 6 – The Night Crawler_

There was a moment of awkward silence in which Margali, Tonino and Klaus all stared up at where Kurti was crawling across the ceiling of the caravan. Jimaine laughed and pointed towards him, which suddenly roused Margali from her bemused trance.

_Come down, little one, it is not safe for you up there, _she communicated telepathically, suddenly feeling terrified for Kurti's safety. She felt worried that Kurti would fall and hurt himself, or that he would accidently cut his hands or knees on a sharp piece of wood or metal. Margali wanted to scream in fright and panic, but she knew that it would do no good, and would quite possibly scare Kurti and make him lose his concentration and fall. Margali swallowed nervously, and did her best to remain calm. Kurti did not seem to be hurt, or even afraid. In fact, he was happily crawling across the roof of the ceiling as though it was the most normal activity in the world. Margali smiled up at Kurti reassuringly, hiding her concerns as best she could. Kurti looked down at her, and began to giggle. She held her arms out towards him, and smiled up at him reassuringly, invitingly. Kurti smiled happily, as he looked down at Margali. _Come to me, little one, come down into my arms._

Kurti dropped down, and Margali caught him with a relieved sigh. She examined his hands, knees and tail carefully, desperately hoping that he was not hurt. His hands and clothes were filthy, but that was to be expected. She could not remember the last time she had cleaned the roof of the caravan, as it had hardly been the most important or urgent job within the circus. Thankfully, Kurti himself did not seem to be in the least bit hurt, and he grinned up at Margali, before relaxing happily in her arms. Still, Margali decided that it was best to be sure, so she touched his forehead lightly, and searched his thoughts, trying to discover if he was in any pain or discomfort. She gave a sigh of relief when she felt nothing but contentment and a feeling of comfort and warmth. Still, Margali decided that she would take him to see Maja later, just to be certain. Margali rocked Kurti gently in her arms. "There, that's better," she said, desperately trying to sound a lot calmer than she felt, "you are safe now."

"But are the rest of us?" Tonino demanded as he stared at Kurti sceptically. His blue eyes looked worried, and he had his arms folded over his chest.

"What do you mean?" Margali asked sceptically.

"That's not normal," Tonino said, "it's not normal for an infant to go wandering across the ceiling of a caravan as if it's some sort of joke or a stroll in the park."

"Nothing about Kurti's normal," Margali replied, shrugging her shoulders dismissively, "what's so great about being normal, anyway? We live in a circus, we're supposed to celebrate diversity and those that have skills and talents outside of what some might consider normal."

Tonino shook his head, and pointed at Kurti. "That thing is not human," he said, "Maja claimed that it was only a few days old. That means that it shouldn't even be crawling yet, let alone going for a stroll across the roof of the caravan!"

Kurti began to cry when he heard Tonino's harsh tone of voice, and Margali tightened her grip on him protectively. "Do not worry, my little night crawler," she whispered soothingly, "we were concerned for your safety; that is all. You are safe now."

Tonino stared at Kurti sceptically. "Night crawler?" he asked.

Margali shrugged her shoulders again. "Why not? If he wants to crawl in the night, I guess that makes him a night crawler," she said.

Tonino frowned, and glared at Kurti sceptically. "That child has put a spell on you, Margali," he said worriedly, "its preventing you from thinking clearly, and its making you want to protect and defend it. That thing is dangerous, if you are not careful, it will kill us all."

Margali glared at Tonino angrily. "I believe, Tonino, that sometimes you forget just how powerful I am," she said haughtily, "my mind cannot easily be controlled, least of all by a newborn."

"Perhaps," Tonino conceded, "but how can that thing possibly be a newborn? Newborns don't crawl! Newborn's certainly don't climb up walls and dangle from the ceiling!"

Margali shrugged dismissively. "Maja said that everything she assumed about Kurti was little more than guesswork," she said. "Perhaps he is older than she thought. Perhaps his mutant ability manifesting early has led to his other abilities manifesting early, or perhaps both."

Tonino sighed, and then looked down at where Jimaine and Stefan were watching them uncertainly. He looked back up at Margali, and placed a reassuring hand upon her shoulder. "But what about our own children?" he asked, his tone suddenly vulnerable. "What about Stefan and Jimaine? Would you endanger them, just to keep this little one safe?"

Margali glared at Tonino again, and shook her head. "Neither Stefan nor Jimaine were ever in any danger," she told him angrily.

"But they could be," Tonino said worriedly, "if this one is already crawling, how long before it does more than that? How long before it finds a knife and attacks them?"

"I won't let that happen," Margali assured him, "and don't worry, I've looked inside Kurti's mind. He loves Jimaine and Stefan, and would never intentionally harm either of them."

"But, as you keep on telling me, he is an infant," Tonino replied, "he could still hurt them unintentionally."

"Um," said Klaus, obviously feeling awkward about interrupting their argument, "someone has always been watching Kurti. I think we would be able to stop him from hurting himself or anyone else."

Tonino turned his attention towards Klaus, and glared at him angrily. "Like you stopped him from climbing up to the ceiling?" he demanded.

Klaus looked down awkwardly, and held up Stefan's toy giraffe guiltily. "Stefan dropped this," he explained quietly, "I bent down to pick up Longneck, and when I looked up, Kurti was crawling across the ceiling. I only took my eyes off of him for a minute."

"And in that minute he could have killed Stefan or Jimaine," Tonino growled, "it is obvious, Faoladh, that you cannot control what that thing does."

"Um, Faoladh?" Klaus asked uncertainly.

"It's an old Irish folktale concerning werewolves," Margali explained dismissively, "and it's not important right now." She turned her attention back to Tonino. "Klaus couldn't have possibly realised that Kurti could climb up to the ceiling of the caravan, no one could have predicted that. It's not his fault."

Tonino looked from Klaus to Kurti, and then turned his attention back to Margali. "Are we running a charity for unwanted mutants now?" he demanded. "This is a circus, we cannot afford to take in every waif and stray with a sob story."

"Klaus pulls his own weight," Margali replied, "he has been working as my errand boy ever since he arrived here. He is not a charity."

"Errand boy?" Tonino asked sceptically. "Is that what they're called now? Isn't he a bit young for you?"

"Um, perhaps I should go somewhere else?" Klaus suggested uncertainly, suddenly looking very awkward.

"You know perfectly well that an errand boy means just that," Margali told Tonino angrily, "we are not all like you, spending our free time gallivanting off with nubile young teenagers young enough to be our own children."

Tonino suddenly looked down guiltily. "How long have you known?" he asked quietly.

Margali shrugged dismissively. "About pretty young Erika? Oh, long enough. You should have known better than to try to hide your wandering ways from a sorceress."

Tonino shook his head. "Things have been so hard lately," he said, "you're always busy with the circus or the children, you never have time for me anymore. You're not the person I married."

"Of course I'm not," Margali replied, "I'm older, and I have responsibilities that I didn't have in my youth. I have to devote my time to my children and to my circus; I can't spend all of my time with you anymore."

Tonino sighed. "Well, that is another issue, which must be dealt with, but not right now. Right now, we have more urgent matters that must be discussed," he pointed towards where Klaus was biting his lip nervously. "If that Faoladh cannot even watch an infant without calling for help, he is a poor excuse for an errand boy."

Margali sighed. "It's not Klaus' fault," she said. "None of us could have predicted that Kurti would be able to climb up to the ceiling. Now we know that he can, and so we can take precautions to make sure that everyone is safe."

"Even if you are right about that, we still cannot afford to take care of a child that is not useful to our circus," said Tonino, pointing towards Kurti uncertainly.

Margali sighed, and shook her head. Unfortunately, there was a certain amount of truth in Tonino's words. The circus was barely surviving, and the last two shows had scarcely made enough money to cover costs. She stared down at Kurti for a long moment, and then began to smile. It was a crazy idea, but it might just be the solution to all of their problems. "My little night crawler," she said fondly, "how would you like to be a star?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Firstly, sincere apologies for not updating sooner. I've had a lot of deadlines due this week, so I've had to concentrate on college work rather than my stories. Still, I should have some time off over the Christmas period, so hopefully I should have more time to devote to this story over the next few weeks. Thank you all for your patience. Now on with the tale;**

_Chapter 7 – The Youngest Performer_

Margali examined the roof of her caravan, and nodded in satisfaction. It was now covered in brightly coloured material, so that, if Kurti wanted to climb along the roof, he could do so without her worrying that he would be hurt. Kurti himself stared up at the ceiling in wonder, clearly awed by the bright purples, yellows and greens. Margali smiled down at him, and then pointed towards the ceiling. "There," she said, "now you can climb around the ceiling until your heart's content." She sighed quietly to herself. Cleaning and decorating the ceiling of the caravan had taken far longer than she had expected, and it was nearly time for the first show of the evening to begin. "But later," she added, "right now, we have to go and prepare for our act."

She carried Kurti into a small changing room, adjacent to the Big Top. The clowns were just finishing their act and bowing to the applauding audience, as Margali looked down at Kurti worriedly. "I must be mad," she muttered. She was beginning to question the wisdom of her plan. There was just so much that could potentially go wrong, so much that could potentially lead to disaster, not only for herself and Kurti, but for the entire Szardos Circus itself. Margali shook her head suddenly, as though to dislodge her worries and fears. Thinking like that would do no good, and indeed, could potentially cause a great deal of harm. Besides, if the worst came to the worst, she could always erase the memories of everyone present. She did not like using her powers in that way, but she was prepared to do almost anything in order to ensure that her family remained safe.

"And now," the Ring-Master's booming voice echoed around the Big Top, "we have a very special act, one never before witnessed throughout the whole of Europe."

Margali gulped slightly at the introduction, as she listened to the confused, excited muttering from amongst the crowd. The Ring-Master cracked his whip, and the Big Top instantaneously became silent once more. "We have a very special guest, all the way from the deepest, darkest jungle, in a far and distant land," his voice suddenly became much quieter, "and he is very nervous, and very shy, so I must urge you all to be very quiet, for this amazing creature has incredible hearing, so please do not applaud until after he has left the tent. And now, without further ado, I present to you our newest act; Margali the Sorceress, and her amazing blue child!"

Margali strode purposefully onto the Big Top, Kurti hidden inside a small compartment within a rather large and ornate hat. Margali smiled to herself, feeling hopeful, despite her sudden nervous. She had never really liked actually performing within the circus, preferring to take on a primarily managerial and organisational role, but she had at times performed in front of the crowds, when other performers had been too ill to perform. The show had to go on, no matter what; she had not been exaggerating when she had told Klaus that if the circus did not make money, they would not be able to afford to eat. Margali took a bow, and placed the hat upon a small wooden table near the centre of the Big Top. A few of the children within the audience leaned forward, as though curious to see what was going to happen next. Margali grinned at them, and lifted the hat, showing them that it was empty, since Kurti was still hidden within the secret compartment. Then, as she placed the hat back on the table, she gently nudged Kurti out of the compartment, and lifted him out of the hat, before holding him above her head, so that everyone in the audience could see him. A few of the children began to clap, but were quickly reminded by their parents not to applaud until the act was finished. Margali smiled at them gratefully. "Please," she said, "this little one's ears are very sensitive. I would be most grateful if you did not applaud until after he is safely out of earshot."

The crowd instantly became silent once more, and Margali cautiously moved closer to the audience. They seemed to find Kurti exceptionally cute as they looked at him with wonder, and no small amount of curiosity. A little girl in the front row asked shyly if she could stroke him. Margali smiled, and nodded at her reassuringly. "Just be gentle," she said, and watched her carefully as the child gently stroked Kurti's head. Kurti himself seemed to love all of this new attention, and rubbed his head against the delighted girl's hand in a manner very reminiscent of a cat. Then Margali returned to the centre of Big Top, where there were a number of ladders that would be used by the acrobats later in the show. Kurti looked up at the nearest ladder hopefully, and then looked back at Margali uncertainly.

_Yes, dear one, you may climb up there,_ she assured him telepathically, _I will not let you fall._

A moment later, Kurti had begun to eagerly climb up the ladder, in a manner very reminiscent of a monkey. Margali watched him carefully, ready to use her magic if necessary to prevent him from falling or hurting himself, but Kurti seemed to be as sure-footed as a mountain goat, and did not slip even once. Then Margali used her magic – her real magic, not the conjuring tricks that were used for prestidigitation – to attempt to understand what the crowd was thinking, as they watched Kurti climb towards the top of the tent.

She would have liked to think that all of those watching the performance would have been thinking about nothing except the current act, but human thought rarely worked that way. She sensed vague fears and worries about the future, and remembered episodes from the past, as well as thoughts concerning the show.

_...I hope the twins are enjoying the show... _

_...I wonder if they are still selling sweets outside..._

_...I hope no-one finds out that I snuck into the circus without paying..._

Margali narrowed her eyes angrily when she caught the last thought. So someone had thought he could watch the show without paying, had he? Well, Margali would not allow him to get away with that. They were barely making enough money to survive as it was, they certainly could not afford to let people see the show for free, and if one person had managed to sneak in without paying, then there would almost certainly be more people trying the same trick in the not too distant future. She concentrated on where the thought had originated, and located it coming from a boy of about Klaus' age in the second row. She would have to approach him later, when her act was finished, but for the moment, Kurti was a far more urgent consideration. She concentrated on the thoughts of the audience once more, forcing herself to ignore all thoughts that did not relate to Kurti, as the crowd continued to watch him ascending the ladder.

_...What is that thing...?_

_...Is it some sort of monkey...?_

_...A lemur...?_

_...Some sort of strange jungle cat...?_

_...I've never seen anything quite like that before, what is it...?_

_I hope the circus treats that thing well, whatever it is, I hate it when circuses treat their animals badly..._

Although Margali hated the thought that the audience considered that Kurti was some kind of animal, she nevertheless agreed with the final thought. It was, after all, the duty of those in power to look after those that were powerless. To Margali's mind, those that abused their power, either by being abusive or neglectful, were the very worst kinds of people. Margali found that her own mind was wondering back to the day when she had found Kurti in the river, and her own disbelief that any mother could abandon her child in such a way. Still, she had promised Maja that she would not judge Kurti's mother until she knew the whole story, and she intended to keep her promise.

She used her magic to search the thoughts of the audience once more, trying to find anything that could possibly indicate that someone present knew something, anything, which could possibly lead to her being able to locate Kurti's parents. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to find anything within the thoughts of all of those present that indicated that anyone knew anything at all that might help her to uncover the secrets of Kurti's past. She frowned in frustration. Someone had to know something! Yet she was unable to uncover anything that might prove to be even vaguely helpful. She sighed quietly to herself, and scanned the audience momentarily. At least they seemed to be enjoying watching Kurti, as he climbed along the roof of the Big Top with incredible ease, laughing happily the entire time. Several of the children in the audience also laughed, and pointed towards Kurti, who looked down at them, grinned mischievously towards them, and waved his tail at them in a friendly manner. This only made the children laugh even louder, and suddenly Kurti let go of the roof of the tent, and performed a rather impressive summersault in mid-air, before landing gently in the lap of the little girl in the front row who had stroked him, mere minutes before. Unfortunately, this startled the surprised the little girl and she suddenly screamed in fright.

Margali's heart stopped momentarily, as she quickly raced towards where Kurti was staring up at the little girl in confusion. It was clear that her surprised scream had hurt his sensitive ears, and he did not understand her sudden change in attitude. Margali reached towards Kurti with her mind, to coax him and reassure him that there was nothing to be afraid of. _Do not be distressed, dear one,_ she desperately tried to reason with him, _you merely startled her, that is all, that is the only reason why she screamed. _

Kurti looked up at Margali as she gently patted his head, and then he turned his attention back towards the little girl, who suddenly looked rather embarrassed. Kurti nuzzled the girl's hand uncertainly, and a moment later, she was once more stroking him and petting him. She quietly apologised to Kurti for her screaming, and Kurti merely purred in contentment as she tickled him under the chin. Margali let out a relieved sigh, and ever so gently, she used her telekinesis to lift Kurti out of the girl's hand and allowed him to float across the heads of the audience, who laughed and stared up at Kurti in wonder, clearly curious to know how such a trick was being performed. Margali smiled knowingly to herself, and wondered what the audience would think if they were to realise that she was performing real magic, rather than mere conjuring tricks. Of course, most would never suspect as much, they knew that there were many magicians within the circus, and believed that all of their talents were nothing more than trickery and illusion. It was best that they believed that, after all, sometimes the best place to hide was in plain sight.

Finally, Margali used her telekinesis to float Kurti back into her waiting embrace. Kurti giggled happily, clearly having enjoyed his performance immensely, even if he had been momentarily freighted by the little girl's screaming. Margali smiled in relief, and bowed to the audience, who began to throw flowers at them. Margali reached down and picked up a small pink rose from the floor, then bowed to the audience again. As she left the ring, Kurti still in her arms, she heard the crowd applauding and clapping enthusiastically. She stared down at Kurti proudly. "Do you hear that?" she said asked him quietly. "That's all for you. They're clapping because they were so impressed with your performance out there, I'm so proud of you!" She giggled when Kurti smiled up at her happily, and gave Kurti a wry smile. "You impressed them so much that even the best of our acrobats will have serious trouble impressing the crowd after they've seen what you can do." She stared back at the audience for a moment, before returning her attention back to Kurti once more. "Still, I was less than successful concerning the main purpose of this act, which was to try and find out something that might help me to find out about your parents," she admitted, "I'm beginning to think that no-one knows anything, even though, logically, I know that cannot be the truth."

She sighed quietly to herself, and then narrowed her eyes when she saw the boy who had managed to sneak into the Big Top and watch the performance without paying for it. She grinned menacingly, and then strode over towards him. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around and stared at her, his eyes frightened, as she used her magic in order to look inside his mind. "Jacques," she said, folding her arms, "Jacques Alvo. I believe you were under the mistaken impression that you could get away with watching my show without paying for the honour, is that not correct?" she asked.

Jacques gulped. "What?" he asked. "How did you know my name?"

Margali leaned in close to him. "Oh, I know the names of all of those who choose to sneak in to watch my circus without paying," she told him.

Jacques gulped again, and he bit his lip nervously. "I-I..." he stuttered, but Margali interrupted him.

"Come with me. Do exactly what I say and I won't tell your parents," she said.

Jacques silently followed as Margali led him towards where Klaus was once more shovelling horse dung. Klaus looked up at Margali in confusion when he saw Jacques by her side. "Hello Klaus," said Margali, "I have found an assistant for you. I would like you to have a more supervisory role for the next hour or two."

Klaus looked at her in confusion. "I'm not sure that I understand," he admitted.

Margali grinned, and pointed towards the terrified Jacques. "This is Jacques Alvo," she said, "he was under the mistaken impression that he could get away with watching our show without paying for it; however you and I both know that all must contribute, if the circus is to run in an efficient manner. So I would like Jacques to earn his ticket, by shovelling dung, while you supervise him, and make sure that he works efficiently and effectively."

Klaus grinned, clearly liking this plan immensely. He handed his shovel over to the terrified and slightly confused Jacques. "Of course, Margali," he said enthusiastically, "I think I am going to enjoy my supervisory role."

Jacques had little choice but to shovel dung, under the watchful gaze of the rather smug Klaus, as Margali returned back to her caravan, and began preparing Kurti for bed. "How did it go?" asked Sabu, who had been watching Stefan and Jimaine while Margali and Kurti had been performing.

Margali shrugged. "The act?" she asked. "The crowd seemed to love Kurti, so that's good. But I was unable to find out anything about Kurti's parents, so that's bad.

Sabu nodded thoughtfully. "No matter," he said, putting a reassuring hand upon Margali's shoulder. "After all, there's always tomorrow."


	9. Chapter 9

**Firstly, I hope everyone had a happy Christmas (or equivalent culturally appropriate holiday celebration) and that you will all have a New Year full of joy, happiness, creativity and good madness. Secondly, here's the next chapter of **_**The Foundling.**_** I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, all comments and suggestions are welcome. **

_Chapter 7 – Giovanni _

Margali approached where Jacques was busily shovelling horse dung, while Klaus was watching him and grinning enthusiastically; it was clear that he was enjoying his role as supervisor just a little bit too much. "I think that's enough, now," Margali told Jacques gently, "now go and get washed, if you hurry, you will be in time for our grand finale."

Jacques looked up gratefully. "Seriously?" he asked hopefully.

Margali nodded, and smiled at him. "You've earned the right to see the rest of the show now," she assured him. "A good day's work for an appropriate reward. Just don't expect that I'll be so lenient if I ever catch you again," she warned him sternly.

Jacques threw down his shovel, and ran with quite impressive speed away from where Margali and Klaus were watching him with mild amusement. Margali laughed quietly, and winked at Klaus, "I don't think he's going to be trying that again anytime soon," she said.

"Shame," muttered Klaus, bending down and retrieving the shovel, "I was quite enjoying my supervisory role."

Margali gave him an understanding smile. "All roles within the circus are of value," she assured him, "including those that lack the glamour of our star performers."

Klaus sighed, and then gave Margali a slightly confused look. "There's just one thing that I don't understand," he admitted, "if you could make Kurti fly during the show, why didn't you just fly or float him down from the ceiling of your caravan?"

"Oh Klaus," said Margali, "magic is not the same as mutant abilities. I have to study my spells to ensure that I use them correctly. Casting a spell that I had not rehearsed, one that I was not sure that I could use correctly, could have caused serious damage to both Kurti and myself. I have had to study books of magic in order to ensure that I was using my telekinesis in a manner that would not cause damage that I might not have been able to undo."

"I guess that makes sense," Klaus muttered uncertainly.

"Talking to your 'errand boy' again, Margali?" asked Tonino sarcastically, suddenly coming up behind them.

"If you think I am doing anything inappropriate with Klaus, please make your accusation clearly, or not at all," Margali snapped back.

"Um, perhaps I should go now?" Klaus suggested quietly.

"Good idea," said Margali, still glaring at Tonino, "go and see if Shiro needs a hand with anything."

"Yes, perhaps you should go now," Tonino said, as Klaus was about to leave, "perhaps you should return to wherever it is that you came from."

Klaus gave Margali an awkward smile, and a moment later ran towards Shiro's caravan. Margali glared at Tonino accusingly. "If you have a problem with me, please say so," she growled, "but leave Klaus out of this."

"Trying to protect your lover, is that it?" Tonino taunted.

Margali glared at Tonino haughtily. "I don't have to put up with these unfounded accusations," she said, "if I cannot so much as talk with an employee without you getting suspicious of my intentions, then perhaps our marriage is not as strong as it ought to be."

Tonino glared at Margali for a long moment, but then looked away, clearly ashamed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I've just been under a lot of pressure recently. The circus is not doing as well as I would have hoped, and you have been spending all of your spare time with that strange child," he pointed to where Kurti was sleeping peacefully within Margali's gentle embrace.

"Well, I have some good news, in that case," Margali said, "the audience tonight seemed to love Kurti. I haven't examined our accounts yet, but I'm pretty sure that we've made more tonight than we've earned for a very long time."

"That's good," said Tonino quietly. Then he bit his lip nervously, "I was at the _Seven Rooks_ Tavern yesterday..." he muttered guiltily.

"Seeing Erika again, were you?" Margali demanded.

Tonino looked down, and swallowed quietly. "I met someone there," he said quietly, "Giovanni. Do you remember Giovanni Efnysien?"

Margali glared at Tonino for a long moment. She would have almost preferred to have heard that Tonino had been in the company of Erika. She remembered Giovanni far too well. As children, Tonino and Giovanni had apparently been best friends, but Giovanni had been the sort of child that was always in trouble, and he had a nasty habit of dragging Tonino along with him, in order to participate in his many schemes. The last time she had met Giovanni had been at her wedding to Tonino, just over nine years ago. She was fairly certain that Giovanni had been at least partially responsible for the food fight at the reception afterwards, although he had vehemently denied it. According to Tonino, Giovanni had joined the Italian armed forces as a soldier soon after that, and working in the army had made Giovanni grow up significantly. Still, Margali remembered that she had never really liked Giovanni very much, and had never felt comfortable when she had been anywhere near him. Giovanni had also never exactly liked Margali very much either, and Margali doubted that they could ever be friends. Margali tried to disguise her sudden feeling of uneasiness as she smiled at Tonino awkwardly. "You do not need my permission to spend time with your friends," she said cautiously.

"I know you never really warmed to him," Tonino said, examining Margali's face critically, "but he's grown up a lot in the last few years. Being a soldier tends to do that to people."

"Perhaps," Margali admitted, "but I remember the things he used to do before we were married. I was always afraid that he would get you arrested," she sighed, "or killed," she added.

"That was just youthful high spirits," said Tonino dismissively, "besides, you have to admit that when he dyed all of our animals pink, it was pretty funny."

Margali had to concede that it had indeed been mildly amusing. Somehow, Giovanni had managed to slip pink dye into the animals' bathing water, and for weeks the audience had been amused by the 'Pink Prancing Ponies' of the Szardos Circus. They had made quite a lot of money back then, due to the unique selling point of these unusual horses. After a month or so, the dye had gradually faded, and, as far as anyone could tell, the horses had not been harmed in any way by the prank. "Very well," she said, giving Tonino a small smile, "I admit it, that one at least was quite funny."

"He would like to see you again," Tonino said cautiously, "and our children, too," he added.

Margali sighed, and smiled at Tonino again. "You don't need my permission to bring him here," she said quietly, "but I still think that he's nothing but trouble."

"He might surprise you," said Tonino. "I also heard that Narran the Story Teller will be visiting the _Seven Rooks_ sometime in the next week," he added.

"Narran Olorin," Margali said thoughtfully. She remembered Narran well, although she had not seen him for nearly nine years. As a young woman, Margali would listen to Narran's stories, and would enjoy them immensely. Narran came and went as he pleased, telling stories to all who would listen in various taverns and inns. Margali had often asked him for advice, and he had always been a great source of wisdom whenever she needed to talk to someone outside of the circus. Margali looked down at Kurti, who was still sleeping quietly within her embrace. It seemed that performing earlier had worn Kurti out, even though he had clearly enjoyed the experience. Margali smiled at him gently. She was beginning to run out of ideas concerning how to uncover the secrets of his past. It was quite possible that Narran would be able to provide her with some much needed advice. "Thank you for telling me," she said, looking up at Tonino gratefully, "I could really use his wisdom right about now."

"You're welcome," said Tonino, and then he smiled at her awkwardly. "I'm going to see Giovanni now, he's been waiting patiently by our caravan to see whether or not you wanted to meet with him."

Margali sighed, but nodded, and watched as Tonino walked away from her. Perhaps she was worrying needlessly. After all, it had been nine years, and people could change a lot in that time. A moment later, she began to doubt her own conviction, as she saw Tonino return with Giovanni beside him. Giovanni was slightly taller than Tonino, with dark brown hair and a tanned complexion. He had high cheek bones, and although he was quite handsome, there was something chilling about his gaze. His eyes were cold and calculating, with a haunted look deep within them. Margali could not stop herself from shuddering as Giovanni came closer to her, and she was able to get a better look at those harsh, brown eyes. Margali knew that sometimes, when people joined the armed forces, they did a lot of growing up quickly, perhaps too quickly in some cases. Joining the armed forced often led to people becoming responsible and well-adjusted citizens, the sort of people who would be a valuable asset to any community. But joining the armed forces could also have much more negative consequences, could lead to people gradually losing both their compassion and their sanity as a result of everything that they had witnessed while participating in armed conflicts. As Margali stared at Giovanni's eyes, she realised that here was a man who had seen things, done things that no human being should have had to see or to do, and that this had clearly affected his mind. There was an extreme degree of harshness within his gaze, which indicated that he had witnessed far too much horror, and that it had led to him displaying a degree of pragmatism that was almost indistinguishable from cruelty. Although there were few people in the world who truly scared Margali, Giovanni suddenly made her feel absolutely terrified. Giovanni smiled at her, but his smile did not reach his eyes. He extended his hand for her to shake. "Margali," he said, "It has been a long time."

Margali carefully adjusted Kurti within her embrace, and then, very cautiously, shook Giovanni's hand. "Indeed it has," she said.

Giovanni then pointed towards Kurti, and gave a thin-lipped smile. "So this is the little one who has been causing so much trouble, is it?" he asked. Although his tone was both pleasant and friendly, his eyes remained cold and cruel.

Margali suddenly felt terrified for Kurti's safety, as she smiled and nodded at Giovanni nervously. "Tonino has been telling you a lot about our circus, has he?" she asked him, as pleasantly as she could manage.

Giovanni gave a small nod as he looked down at Kurti once more. "Oh yes," he said after a long and rather awkward pause, "very much indeed."


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed/added me to their favourite list/added me to their author alerts, it means a great deal to me to know that there are people who are reading and enjoying my stories. Now on with the story;**

_Chapter 9 – The Acrobats_

It had been four days since Giovanni had arrived at the Szardos Circus. Tonino had been showing him around, and, although he was invariably polite to everyone he met, Margali could not ignore her intuition that kept telling her that Giovanni would be nothing but trouble. Margali knew that it was unwise for a sorceress to ignore her intuition, but still, Giovanni had not harmed anyone as far as she could tell, so perhaps she was being unnecessarily cautious. At least the circus itself was doing well. Kurti seemed to be immensely popular, and Margali could not remember the last time that the Szardos Circus had made this much money within a single week. For the first time since Jimaine had been born, Margali did not have to worry that they would not make enough money to be able to maintain the circus and all of its performers. Margali smiled wryly. Perhaps that was why she was worrying about Giovanni now, instead. After all, when was the last time that she had not been worried about something? Perhaps that was just a natural part of being a mother.

Every night, Margali would perform with Kurti, and she would examine the thoughts of the audience, searching, trying to find something, anything that might be able to give her a clue concerning Kurti's past. So far, she had been unable to find anything even remotely useful, and she was beginning to wonder if she should stop trying. After all, Kurti seemed to be happy within the circus, and the Szardos Circus itself was not only surviving, but for the first time in years, starting to thrive. This again was mostly due to Kurti. Margali had always prided herself on her ability to recruit and retain talented performers, but until recently, they had not had an act that distinguished them significantly from all of the other talented circus performers who travelled throughout Europe and beyond. Well, not since the 'Pink Prancing Ponies of Prussia,' anyway, and that had hardly been planned.

Kurti wriggled in her embrace for a moment, and Margali briefly felt vaguely guilty that she was using the strange blue infant in order to aid her circus. Still, it was not as if it would help Kurti in any way if the circus failed and they all died of starvation, she reasoned with herself, since Kurti himself would be more likely to thrive if he lived in a thriving environment. Besides, it was not as if Kurti seemed to mind his new life, quite the contrary in fact; Kurti seemed to love the attention that he received from his adoring fans, and seemed to be glad to have the opportunity to demonstrate his mutant abilities in front of an awed crowd. Kurti had even started to enjoy the applause that he invariably received at the end of his act, despite his natural aversion to loud noises. Margali gave a small sigh. She wanted desperately to believe that she was doing the right thing concerning Kurti, despite her nagging doubts. She ignored her concerns as she approached where the twin acrobats, Elita and Minerva Saint-Exupery, were practicing their act. Margali gave a wry smile when Kurti suddenly leapt from her arms, and performed a near perfect imitation of their routine. Elita jumped down from the trapeze, and gave a small laugh. "It took me over twelve years to master that act," she gave a good-natured sigh, "and Kurti does it almost perfectly the first time he tries. It isn't fair. I'd feel jealous of him if her were not so cute."

Margali smiled, and pointed up at where Kurti was doing double back flips with apparent ease. "Kurti certainly has some very unique gifts," she said proudly, "but gifts can also be curses. Be thankful that you are not blue and furry with a tail, yet still able to perform such impressive moves."

"Always the voice of reason," said Minerva, leaping down beside her sister and Margali.

"I like to think so," Margali replied, as she watched Kurti doing back flips for a few moments longer. She grinned as he laughed and continued his act. Rarely had Margali seen such a talented acrobat, yet to Kurti, it seemed that what he was doing was nothing more than a game. Margali turned her attention back to the sisters, when it was clear that Kurti was in no danger. "I've been trying to find out about his past for quite some time now," she admitted, "but neither my magic, his memories, Klaus' nose, nor the thoughts of the audience have been able to let me discover the secrets of his past. I am beginning to think that I am not supposed to know about his history."

"Well, at least he seems to be happy here," said Elita, as she watched Kurti do a rather complicated summersault before landing on all fours on the soft earth below. Elita gave a wry smile, "Although if he carries on like that, I'm afraid Minerva and I will be out of a job before the end of the year," she added.

Margali laughed, and shook her head. "No one is going to be forced to leave my circus," she assured her, "for the first time in practically forever, we have enough money for everyone, and quite a bit to spare. Still," she added, "Kurti has such raw talent; it would be such a shame if it were not nurtured, if he could not be encouraged to reach his true potential."

"What do you mean?" asked Elita.

Margali walked over to Kurti, and picked him up. She then lifted him up so that Elita and Minerva could stroke his head, almost as if he were a kitten or a puppy. Kurti, naturally, loved the attention, and purred in contentment. Margali smiled at him, and Kurti began to laugh happily. "His mutant talent is his entire body," she said quietly, "his athletic ability is just a natural part of his mutation. Some people have a talent for music, or art, or telling stories, and it is such a shame when their talents are not nurtured. Perhaps you could train Kurti, perhaps both of you could help him to fulfil his true potential. He could surely be one of the most talented acrobats in the whole of Europe, but even with his raw talent, he could not possibly reach his full potential without both guidance and nurturing," she said.

"So you would like us to train him to be an acrobat?" Minerva asked.

Margali nodded. "It would be a great shame if his natural talents were not nurtured," she said.

"True enough," said Elita, "but I thought you wanted to find his parents so that you could return him back to his own people."

Margali merely sighed. "I'm not going to stop trying to find out about them," she said, "but if I can't locate them, if I am unable to discover the secrets of Kurti's past, then it seems only right that I should have some plan to nurture his natural talent and athletic abilities."

"That makes sense," Minerva agreed, "but still, I get the feeling that Kurti could teach us some moves, I'm not sure that there's much that we could teach a mutant that's so, well, flexible," she admitted.

"Just nurture his natural talent," Margali said, "that should be enough, for the moment at least. Besides, even with his wondrous abilities, he could never reach his true potential without mentors to guide him. That's all I ask of you and your sister."

Elita grinned, "Sounds like fun," she said, and then turned her attention back towards Kurti, "so little one, how do you feel about being our apprentice?"

Kurti just giggled happily, as Elita gently stroked his head once more.

"There's someone here to see you, if you are not too busy to make time in order to talk to your own son," said Tonino sharply, suddenly coming up behind Margali. The sorceress turned around, and looked down. She was surprised to see that Stefan was crying.

Margali got down on her knees in order to be level with Stefan, and took his hands in her own. "What is wrong?" she asked him gently.

Stefan sniffed, hugged his toy giraffe, Longneck, tighter in his arms, and wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve. "You always spending time with Kurti," he said, "I miss you. I wish I was blue and furry so that you would spend time with me!"

Margali glared at Tonino momentarily, wondering what he or Giovanni had been saying to Stefan. Margali felt suddenly furious; it was one thing for Tonino to break his wedding vows and become close to someone more than half his age, and then to accuse Margali herself of doing the same, but it was another thing entirely to use their son as a weapon in their argument. Margali took a deep breath, and turned her attention back to Stefan. She smiled at him lovingly, and hugged him reassuringly. "You know that I love you," she said. "You don't have to be jealous of Kurti because of that." Indeed, the very idea that Stefan should be jealous of Kurti at all was really quite ridiculous. Stefan looked almost like a tiny, miniature version of Tonino, completely human, and she suspected that it would only be a few more years before he was every bit as handsome as his father. The idea that Stefan could be jealous of a blue, furry mutant with a tail and mutated hands and feet was really quite humorous. Margali would have chided Stefan for being so stupid, if he had been five or six years older. But she remembered what it could be like to be four; little problems that seemed silly to the huge adults could appear to be insurmountable at that age. It was obvious that Stefan felt jealous of Kurti, and felt guilty for feeling jealous. He was still too young to fully understand these emotions, and that was causing him to be upset. She held him tightly, and whispered in his ear, "You remember when Jimaine was born, don't you?" she asked him.

"Yes," Stefan said, still sobbing quietly.

"I told you that I would have to spend a lot of time with her, and that I could not spend as much time with you as I had before she was born. Do you remember why I told you this?" she asked him quietly.

"'Cos she was littler," Stefan said.

Margali nodded, and kissed Stefan gently on the forehead. "That's right, because she was very small, and so she needed a lot of my attention. Because you were so much bigger than her, you had to be a big boy, you had to be a bold, big brother," she explained, "and now it's the same with Kurti. I have to spend a lot of time with little Kurti, because he's still too little to do most things for himself."

Stefan gave her a weak smile, and wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve once more. "But Kurti got talents," he said guiltily, "Kurti on stage with you. You got magic. I got nothing."

"Oh Stefan," Margali sighed, "is that what's making you upset, because Kurti's got a mutant ability and I've got my magic?"

Stefan merely nodded, and looked down guiltily.

"That's silly," said Margali, "our show would be really boring if all we had were mutants and sorceresses. We also need acrobats and clowns and strong men and people to cook food and make clothes and to look after our animals and our children. Everyone has special abilities, we just have to find our own ways, do what is right for each and every one of us, so that we all can shine in our own way."

Stefan looked up at Margali uncertainly, and Margali kissed him on the forehead once more. "And you have to find your own way to shine," she told him quietly, "not Kurti's, not mine, not Jimaine's, yours. If you try to be someone else, you won't be very good at it. You just have to be the best you can be at being you."

Stefan sniffed, and gave Margali a small smile through his tear-stained face. "I guess so," he said quietly.

"I know so," Margali replied, "listen, I love the colour green, it's my favourite colour. The grass and the trees and so many other living things are green. But just think how boring a rainbow would be if it were only green!"

Stefan giggled, and managed another weak smile.

"It would be so dull!" Margali continued. "The rainbow's so much better for being red and blue and yellow as well as green. So is the rest of the world, and so is our circus. A circus made up of nothing but mutant acrobats would be like a rainbow made up of only one colour, so much more boring than one made up of lots and lots of colours, a circus made up of lots and lots of different acts, different people. And you are no less special than Kurti, but you have to learn to shine in your own way, because I know that you can be great, but only if you try to be you," she said.

Stefan smiled up at her, and wiped his eyes again. Margali touched his forehead with her forefinger. "But if you need reassuring, then let me show you this," she said, and a moment later, Stefan felt images entering his mind, images of himself, not how he really was, but how he longed to be; tall and handsome, clever and knowledgeable, and an inspiration for his siblings. "This is how Kurti sees you," Margali assured him, "this is what he thinks of you, and this is the person I know you can be."

Stefan smiled up at Margali again, as she kissed him on the forehead.

"Thank you," said Tonino sincerely, "I don't know what upset him so much, but I think he needed you to tell him and show him all of that."

Margali looked at Stefan sceptically. She would not have been surprised if Giovanni had been involved in upsetting him, but she did not want to make unfounded accusations. She knew very well that small children could be very sensitive at times, so it was quite possible that Giovanni had not been involved at all. "Just make sure that he and Jimaine never doubt that their parents love them," she said quietly, "both of their parents."

Tonino nodded, and smiled at Margali gratefully. "Oh, I almost forgot, you asked me to tell you when Narran would be at the _Seven Rooks_," he said, "I heard that he will be there tomorrow night."

Margali nodded thoughtfully. "That's good," she said. "If Narran can't give me the knowledge and wisdom I need, then I suspect that no-one can. I'll go and see him straight after my act tomorrow night."

Tonino nodded again. "Hopefully he will be able to help you," he said.

Margali merely smiled and nodded. She suddenly felt rather excited about the prospect of meeting her guide and mentor after so many years.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes – Again, sorry for the long wait. I have certainly not given up on this story, but I have been pretty busy with work and college, meaning that I can't always update more than once a month. Your continuing patience is very much appreciated. **

**Much as I would love to take credit for the song/music magic that Narran uses to send baby Kurti to sleep, it is actually from Neil Gaiman's **_**The Graveyard Book**_**. (I can't miss the opportunity to quote my literary hero in a multi-chapter story, after all).**

**Now, on with the story. As always, all reviews and comments are welcome.**

"_**Stories may well be lies, but they are good lies that say true things."**_ – (**Neil Gaiman)**

_Chapter 10 – The Story and the Storyteller_

Margali bowed as the adoring crowd clapped and cheered as she finished her act with Kurti. A moment later, she was running, still holding Kurti tightly in her embrace, back towards her caravan. She entered the caravan, opened a small wooden draw, and withdrew a packet of yellow power, which she sprinkled all over both herself and Kurti. She said the words of power to ensure that the spell would work effectively, and then placed the remainder of the powder back in the draw. The spell should help them to avoid any unnecessary attention. It was not, strictly speaking, an invisibility spell; quite the contrary, people would be able to see them and therefore they would not have to worry about confused people walking into them, or stepping on Margali's toes. What the spell did, however, was make them blend into the background. People would look at them for a moment, but would instantly dismiss them, as though they were a perfectly mundane sight. It was a useful spell that Margali used whenever she did not want any unnecessary attention.

Leaving her caravan and the circus behind, Margali ran up the hill towards the _Seven Rooks_, and cautiously opened the door to the tavern. As predicted, many of the people within the tavern momentarily looked up to see who had entered, but quickly returned their attention back to their drinks and conversations a moment later, as though they had seen a very common sight, rather than a powerful sorceress holding a strange blue mutant within her embrace. Margali smiled to herself, relieved that her magic appeared to be working effectively.

"Ah, Margali, it has been far too long since we last met," said a quiet, dreamy voice from the far corner of the room, "please, come and join me in a mug of ale."

Margali laughed quietly to herself as she met the deep, penetrating gaze of Narran Olorin. She might have known that her magic would be unable to affect him. That was one of the main problems with magic – it did not affect everyone equally. There would always be those who would be at least slightly immune to practically all magical spells. Those that tended to have some magical immunity included some children, some drunks, and some insane people; but fortunately these were the groups who were most likely to be ignored.

Then there were creative people; those skilled in art or music had always tended to have a degree of immunity from illusions and other magical spells. However, the group that had the greatest immunity to the affects of magic tended to be storytellers, and Narran was considered to be one of the finest storytellers in the whole of Europe.

"It is good to see you, Narran," said Margali, as she walked over towards him, "it has been far too long since we last met."

Narran nodded, and then looked directly at Kurti. Narran could at times fail to see what was directly in front of him, as his mind travelled to far off worlds, seeing too deeply into the infinite depths of the possible and impossible. But it was clear that at this particular moment in time he had indeed seen Kurti, and was well aware that the infant was both blue and furry. "So this is your youngest, is it?" he asked, as Kurti began to curiously examine his feather quill.

"No," Margali replied, "he's not mine."

Narran gazed at Margali for a long moment, his eyes as deep and dark as the ocean, and then he gave a small laugh. "Don't deny what we both know is true, Margali," he admonished playfully. "It is obvious that this is your son."

"No he isn't," Margali replied, "I don't know who gave birth to him, but it wasn't me."

"Ah," said Narran, as though that explained everything, "family is about love, not lineage. The rest, as I know you circus folk say, is mere tent covering. It is clear that this little one is as much yours as if you had given birth to him."

Kurti began to cry, probably because of all the strange smells and noises within the tavern. Margali bit her lip uncertainly; she wanted to avoid any unnecessary attention if at all possible, but Kurti crying would almost certainly cause her spell to be weakened, and therefore less effective.

"May I take hold of him?" Narran asked.

"Of course," Margali replied, handing him over to her companion.

Narran held him close, and smiled as he looked into Kurti's shinning yellow eyes. "Well, aren't you a beauty," he said.

Margali looked at Narran sceptically for a moment, but there was no sense of irony in his voice, and it was clear that he meant what he said. Margali smiled to herself, as Narran quietly began to sing to Kurti;

"_Sleep my little baby-oh  
>Sleep until you waken<br>When you wake you'll see the world  
>If I'm not mistaken...<em>

_Kiss a lover  
>Dance a measure,<br>Find your name  
>And buried treasure...<em>

_Face your life  
>Its pain,<br>Its pleasure,  
>Leave no path untaken."<em>

Margali watched as Kurti drifted off to sleep in Narran's arms. "Music magic?" she asked.

Narran merely shrugged. "All forms of magic are one," he replied, "it's just that some people use them differently."

Margali wondered if she was supposed to understand that answer, as she silently took a sip of the ale that Narran had given to her. She did not really like alcoholic beverages very much, but she knew that it would help her illusion if the people within the tavern believed that she was doing normal, mundane tavern activities. She smiled as she noticed Narran watching her. "You are looking well, Narran," she said after a long pause, "you look exactly the same as you did when we last met, years ago." It was true, as although it had been nine years since she had last seen Narran, he did not look a day older than she remembered. He still had messy, jet-black hair, a pale complexion and those incredibly deep eyes.

Narran merely nodded, and smiled at her. "You too are also looking well, Margali," he said.

Margali sighed. "I'm beginning to feel my age," she admitted, "every day, I find another grey hair on my head; see another wrinkle on my face. I think the pressure of running the circus is beginning to affect my looks."

"As autumn trees gloriously wear their changing colours on the twilight of their being, perhaps," Narran said, "all ages, all seasons, have their own beauty."

Margali gave a little laugh. "Still the charmer, I see," she said playfully, "you always did have a gift with words."

Narran nodded. "Words are my tools, the building blocks of my stories, the essential elements of my profession," he said, "the pen is, as they say, mightier than the sword, and, I can inform you from experience, also significantly easier to write with."

Margali was not sure whether or not he was joking. His face remained calm, although his eyes continued to dance with merriment. He looked down at Kurti and stroked his head gently, and did not appear to be in the least bit surprised at his unusual appearance. Perhaps he had seen someone like Kurti before, on one of his many travels. It was quite possible; one world could never be enough for someone like Narran, he needed to travel to thousands of different worlds, to see and experience all things, both possible and impossible.

Margali pointed towards Kurti, "I have tried to find out about his past, his parentage," she said, "so far, with no success. I was wondering if you might be able to help me."

"Why?" asked Narran.

"So I can do what is best for Kurti, whether that is returning him back to his biological parents, or keeping him in the circus; or something else entirely," she explained.

Narran gave her a small, knowing smile. "You are not going to give this one up for anything," he said quietly.

Margali glared at him, suddenly feeling rather insulted. "I will do what is right for Kurti," she insisted, "regardless of what that might be. If it means returning him back to his birth mother, then so be it!"

Narran gave her a long, curious look. "And I believe that you really do believe that," he said calmly, "I believe that you have even managed to convince yourself of the truth of your words. You truly believe that all you have been doing is trying to find out the secrets of this little one's past; so that you can make a rational decision concerning what should be done with him. But nothing you found out could have convinced you to give him up, no information would have possibly been enough to convince you to let him go."

"I am determined to do whatever is best for Kurti," Margali snapped back, "and you are right; I would have required a lot of convincing in order to return Kurti back to whoever it was who left the poor boy in the river. But that does not mean that nothing would have convinced me to return Kurti back to his birth parents."

"You can no more give this infant up," Narran replied quietly, "than you can give up your older children, even if, objectively, it would be for a better life. Would you give up any of your children to become members of a royal household, if someone were to make you this offer?"

"Of course not!" Margarli snapped back. "My children are better off with me than with some royal stranger. They are better off with those who love them, those who have bonded with them, than they would be with anyone else. All the money and power in the world cannot make up for all of that."

"And so it is with this one, your youngest child," Narran replied calmly, "and, as serendipity would have it, he has almost literally fallen into the hands of the best person to raise him, and love him. And so the hero's journey starts again."

Margali gave him a confused look. "I'm not sure I understand," she admitted.

Narran smiled at her. "The hero's journey is a tale as old as humanity," he said, as he handed the sleeping Kurti back to Margali. "It is whispered from mountain to sea and country to country, although the details may change with the telling. There are unusual circumstances surrounding the hero's birth, the hero is then raised in an ordinary environment, unaware of his extraordinary qualities. The hero grows up, faces danger and goes on to achieve greatness. It is clear that this little one has merely begun upon his hero's journey."

"I'm not sure that I'd consider the Szardos Circus to be a 'normal' environment," muttered Margali wryly, as she stared at Kurti's peacefully sleeping face.

"Normal, in this instance, referring to non-mutant," Narran explained, "normal is, after all, relative to time and space. And do not worry about the child," Narran added, "I know enough; you do not need to worry about his biological family. For all their many faults, they love him enough to know that he will be happier and healthier with you than elsewhere. But if you need to hear it in words; you have my assurance that you are the best person who can raise this child. I would sooner part a she-wolf from her cubs than try to part this little one from you."

Margali gave Narran a relieved smile. Perhaps Narran was right, and that was just what she had been longing to hear ever since she found Kurti; that she was the most suitable mother for Kurti, that she was not just some evil step-mother who was using her foundling child in order to ensure that her circus would thrive.

Narran gestured to all of the people within the tavern. "Do you see all of these people here?" he asked. "Each and every one of them is the protagonist of his or her own story. We have but a small part in their tale; we are mere background characters in their narrative, just as they are in ours. Listen, for just a moment, and hear fragments of stories not your own."

Margali closed her eyes, and listened intently to the background noises of the tavern.

"...So it's going to cost a great deal to have the house mended after the storm, still, at least my wife and I have the savings..."

"...It's a shame the old dog had to die, but he had a good long life, and he was in constant pain towards the end. The vet said it was the right thing to do to put him to sleep. The children miss him a great deal, though..."

"...Another drink, Mister Schneider..."

Margali frowned when she heard that. "Schneider," she muttered to herself quietly, "I've heard that name before."

Narran gave her a small smile. "Sometimes the best way to learn is to just listen," he said quietly.

Margali took another sip of her ale, and concentrated on listening to Mister Schneider's response.

"Better not," he said regretfully, "considering what happened last time. The boy might not have run away if I hadn't been drinking."

"We both know that that was never the main reason," his companion said dismissively, "suddenly finding out he's a mutant, turning into a wolf like that. You had a very good reason to be angry."

Margali carefully directed her gaze towards where Mister Schneider and his companion were talking. The older of the two men looked a little bit like Klaus. Margali remembered now; Klaus Schneider, that was why that name seemed so familiar; it was obvious that at least one of the two men opposite her was related to Klaus.

"Well, you know what they say about mutants," Mister Schneider's companion continued, "you can't trust them. I reckon you did the right thing in sending the boy away. Nothing but trouble mutants, especially after what happened to you sister."

Mister Schneider shook his head sadly. "That was all that I could think about at that moment. One minute Klaus is quietly reading, the next the boy's transforming into a wolf and really confused about his new mutant power. And all I could think about was how my dear little sister had been murdered by a mutant and the thought that Klaus might be a mutant too..." Mister Schneider's voice trailed off for a moment, as he stared into the fire. "I didn't think, I just acted, and I haven't heard from him since," he said so quietly that Margali had to strain to hear him.

"Well, that's what mutants do," his companion said dismissively, "they kill people."

"No," Mister Schneider replied sadly, "I wanted to believe that, that mutants were all bad and murderous and cruel. But they're not. My wife made me see that, she told me about the mutants she knew when she was a little girl, and said that most of them were just normal people trying their best to live normal lives. Then you get the monsters that make everyone else in that group seem like monsters too," he gave a loud sigh, "you see it with us, too, and with all groups, one monster ruins the reputation for the rest. I just wish that Klaus would come home. I'd understand if he never wanted to see me again, would not blame him after all I said to him, but if only I could have a chance to apologise to him, to explain why I acted so irrationally, so cruelly..." his voice trailed off again.

Margali turned her attention back to Narran. "Those men over there know Klaus, a boy who ran away and joined our circus a few weeks back."

Narran nodded thoughtfully. "Sometimes the paths of different stories cross and interconnect," he said, "and become one." He gave Margali a mischievous smile. "And I believe that Klaus is even now staring at us through the window of our tavern." He nodded towards the window behind Margali.

She turned around suddenly, and saw a large, grey wolf pawing at the window of the tavern, and staring through the glass. It was obvious that it was Klaus, for she recognised his markings; the slight streaks of white around his eyes and ears. Not that a normal wolf would be likely to want to come anywhere near a tavern anyway, she reasoned with a small smile, as she got up from her chair, still holding Kurti carefully in her embrace. "I must go and see what he wants," she said quietly, "my spell will keep most people from paying us any unwanted attention, but a large grey wolf is distracting enough that few will be able to ignore it, and it could weaken the effectiveness of my spell."

Without another word, or even a backwards glance, Margali raced out of the tavern. Klaus had a small box in his mouth, with an envelope on top of it. Margali frowned uncertainly, and gently removed the box and envelope from his mouth.

Klaus changed back into human form, and gave Margali an uncertain smile. "Sorry if I scared you," he said, "Giovanni asked me to give you this."

"Giovanni did?" Margali asked, giving Klaus a confused look.

Klaus nodded. "Yes," he said, "and I can run much faster as a wolf on four paws than I can as a boy with only two legs," he added.

Margali barely heard him as she stared at the letter, and it was all that she could do to avoid being suddenly, violently sick.

_Margali,_

_I do not do this thing lightly, but the safety of your entire circus is at stake. I therefore must take matters into my own hands for the sake of everyone within the Szardos Circus. Get rid of Kurti. He will bring nothing but danger and death to all those that you care for. I regret the necessity of forcing your hand in this matter, but it is necessary in this instance. If you do not do as I ask, I will kill your children. Look in the box. It contains Stefan's favourite toy, the one that he carries around with him everywhere, proof that I am not merely making an idle threat. Please understand that I do not wish to harm the boy. Just do as I say, and no-one will be harmed._

_Giovanni_

"Klaus, open the box," said Margali, her voice suddenly strangely devoid of emotion.

Klaus gave her an uncertain look, but opened the box, and removed the toy giraffe that Stefan loved so much. Klaus frowned in confusion. "Longneck?" he said uncertainly. "I don't understand."

"You don't need to," Margali snapped at him, as she tried desperately not to lose her temper or burst into tears. She took Longneck from Klaus' hands, and cautiously sniffed the toy. It had clearly been washed in lemon juice and wrapped in mint leaves in order to disguise Stefan's scent. Still, even if Giovanni had not been so thorough, would Klaus have questioned his motives? Klaus was, after all, nothing more than an errand boy, doing whatever the circus folk told him to do in exchange for food and lodgings. Klaus was almost literally the low wolf of the pack, an outsider even among outsiders. Still, none of that mattered right now; nothing else mattered apart from the safety of her children. "Go back to the circus," Margali said, as calmly as she could manage, "find Shiro. Giovanni has gone mad, and if magic cannot prevent his madness causing disaster, then perhaps mere physical strength can."

"I don't understand," Klaus said again.

"I'll explain everything later," Margali snapped at him, "now change back into a wolf so that you can hurry back to the circus."

Without another word, Klaus transformed back into a wolf, and ran back towards the circus. Margali felt a twinge of guilt for yelling at him, but Stefan's wellbeing was far more important right now than Klaus' feelings. Margali knew that there was no time to lose.

She did not really like teleporting; it took a great deal of her energy and concentration to teleport, as well as a great deal of her magical power. She therefore only teleported when it was an emergency, such as her children being in danger. She closed her eyes, concentrated, and a moment later she was back at the Szardos Circus, and ready to endure one of the most harrowing confrontations of her life.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes – As always, thanks to all those who have reviewed/added me to their favourite list/added me to their author alerts, it means a great deal to me to know that there are people who are reading and enjoying my stories. This is the penultimate chapter of "The Foundling". I still have a very short epilogue to write up, which should hopefully be posted very soon. Now, on with the story.**

"_**The really dangerous people believe they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous." (Neil Gaiman)**_

_Chapter 11 – Endings and Beginnings_

Margali felt slightly dizzy and disorientated after teleporting back to the Szardos Circus. She shook her head slightly, trying to clear the dizziness, and then concentrated on using her magic in order to locate Stefan. It did not take her long; she could sense Stefan's very strong feelings of anxiety, and a stubborn determination not to cry, although he felt a desperate need to burst into tears. Trying desperately to remain calm despite her own anxiety, Margali quickly located Stefan and Giovanni around the back of the Big Top. She gasped in shock when she saw that Giovanni had a knife placed against Stefan's throat.

"Hello Margali," said Giovanni, looking up at her briefly, "I see that you still have the blue demon in your hands. Get rid of it, and we can avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness."

Margali merely glared at Giovanni for a long moment, before turning her attention to Stefan, "Are you hurt?" she asked him worriedly.

Stefan bit his lip, and shook his head ever so slightly, as he attempted to stare down at the knife at his throat.

"He is fine," Giovanni said dismissively, "believe me, I have no intention to harm him."

"I doubt very much that he is fine," Margali snarled at Giovanni, "very few toddlers are fine when they have knives placed against their throats." Then she reached towards Stefan with her magic, and examined his thoughts and memories. She breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Giovanni had not harmed him, at least, not physically. She could feel a great deal of stress and anxiety from him, but that was to be expected. Margali turned her attention back to Giovanni, "Where are Tonino and Jimaine?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as calm and level as she could, determined not to demonstrate the fear and worry that she was feeling, "Tonino was supposed to be looking after Jimaine and Stefan."

"They are both fine," Giovanni said. "They should be waking up pretty soon. The drugs I slipped into their drinks will not have any lasting, long term affects," he assured her.

"You poisoned them?" Margali demanded angrily.

"I merely sent them to sleep," Giovanni defended.

"You had no right!" Margali snarled at him. "Now let my son go!" she demanded.

Giovanni gave her a small, slightly insane smile. "I hardly feel that you are in any position to be making demands right now, Margali Szardos," he said calmly, "believe me, I do not wish to harm this child. But if I let him go, what is there to stop you from using that fancy magic of yours against me?" he asked. "This way, I can be assured that you, at the very least, will listen to my words."

"I am willing to listen," Margali said, "and I also know that you are not the only one who is concerned that Kurti will bring danger to my circus. I acknowledge that there is a potential danger, but assure you that it is nothing insurmountable. Now, let my son go."

Giovanni merely smiled at Margali again. "So long as I hold your son here, I have both control and power," he explained calmly, "if I were to let him go, I would lose both of these. Am I not right in believing that you will not use your fancy magic against me whilst I hold him hostage?"

Margali glared at him, feeling furious, mostly because she knew that he was right. As long as Giovanni had Stefan as his hostage, she dared not use her magic in order to attack him; for fear that she might accidentally harm Stefan. Still, there might be another way for her to be able to defeat Giovanni. She telepathically attempted to locate Klaus, and felt an image of him, in wolf form, racing back towards the circus. She had some difficulty communicating with him, as she found it very difficult to telepathically communicate with the mind of a wolf. Still, a part of Klaus' mind remained human, regardless of what form he was in, just as Margali's childhood memories would always be a part of her, although it had been many years since she had been a child. _Klaus, are you near the circus yet? _she asked.

Klaus did not reply in words, but rather in images, as Margali received an image of the Szardos Circus in the distance, but coming closer by the moment, as Klaus hurried on four paws back towards the circus.

_I need your help,_ Margali explained, _Giovanni has gone mad._ Then Margali concentrated on sending an image of Giovanni, with the knife against Stefan's throat, directly into Klaus' slightly confused mind.

"Nothing to say, Margali?" Giovanni taunted.

Margali glared at him. It occurred to her suddenly that she must have been quiet for several minutes, but hopefully not long enough for Giovanni to suspect that she was attempting to recruit help. Still, she would have to try and avoid long silences as much as possible in the future, in case Giovanni did begin to suspect that she was indeed using her magic in order to try and get help. "What is it that you actually want?" Margali demanded, attempting to break the awkward silence.

"I know that you think I am the villain of this tale," Giovanni said calmly, "and perhaps in a way I am, but all I want to do is to save your circus and everyone within it. You will thank me for my actions some day."

"I doubt that very much," Margali replied.

"Well, that is for the future," Giovanni said dismissively. "What I want right now is for you to get rid of Kurti, nothing more, nothing less. Do that and all unpleasantness can be avoided."

"I am not going to harm Kurti," Margali replied.

"I understand," Giovanni said, "leave the child alone in the woods, if you cannot bring yourself to make the final, fatal blow. The wolves and other forest creatures will deal with the body."

Margali glared at Giovanni, and used her magic in order to examine his mind, his thoughts. She would have almost preferred it if she had found that he was a self-obsessed psychopath, concerned only with his own power, but Giovanni genuinely believed that what he was doing was the right thing to do. More worryingly, it was clear that there would be no convincing him otherwise, since his mind was made up, and no amount of words or even magic would be enough to change it. Giovanni had seen things and done things while in the army that no one should have to have seen or done, and these had affected him, given him a sort of madness that initially seemed indistinguishable from sanity. He believed – genuinely, deeply believed – that he was doing what had to be done, that he was the only one who could take the extreme measures necessary that would eventually save the Szardos Circus and everyone within it. Margali shuddered, and desperately hoped that she would never have to link with such a mind again. "It would be better were I to kill Kurti now," she said quietly, well aware that she had been silent for slightly longer than was necessary, and not wanting Giovanni to get suspicious, "than to leave him for the wild things to pick over his bones."

"Then do that," Giovanni replied calmly, "it matters nothing to me, all I am concerned about is that your circus remains safe."

_Klaus, are you close?_ Margali asked. _I need your help._

Margali received an image of the Szardos Circus from Klaus' mind, and it was clear that Klaus was much closer to the circus than he had been when she had telepathically communicated with him a few minutes ago. It was obvious that it would not be long before Klaus reached the circus. Margali also felt a certain amount of confusion from Klaus' mind, since he was unsure about what Margali actually wanted him to do. _Change of plan _she explained, _no time to get Shiro, I need you here as soon as possible._

Margali turned her attention back to Giovanni. "Are you are asking me to kill my youngest child to save my eldest?" Margali asked him. "That is not a choice that any mother could reasonably be expected to make," she said.

Margali turned her attention back to Klaus, and felt his uncertainty and confusion. Again, she sent him an image of Stefan, the knife against his throat, and Giovanni holding the knife. She felt Klaus' wolf mind respond with thoughts of cubs in danger, and the need to protect cubs. _I dare not use my magic, as long as Giovanni is using Stefan as a shield, _she explained, _so I must use other resources to fight him. I need some way to distract Giovanni, so that I can use my magic without endangering Stefan. I believe a large, grey wolf will make a very good distraction indeed._

She felt Klaus' understanding and enthusiastic agreement, as well as his willingness to comply with her wishes. She sent him an image of her location behind the Big Top, and then turned her attention back to Giovanni once more.

"I will not hurt any of my children," Margali told him firmly.

"But this little one is not your child, merely a stranger you found, and a creature that will bring you nothing but harm," Giovanni explained, "surely you would not sacrifice your own flesh and blood for this strange creature. Tonino said that you would not abandon your children for anything. All I am asking you to do is to protect your own child."

"I know that you feel that you are doing the right thing, Giovanni," said Margali quietly, desperate to keep him talking long enough to allow Klaus time to reach her, "but you are wrong. Kurti is not a danger to anyone, he is just a child, and he is just as innocent as the child that you are holding captive right at this moment."

It looked as if Giovanni was about to respond, but suddenly everything seemed to happen at once. Tonino came running towards Margali, with the sleeping Jimaine in his arms. "I came as quickly as I could," he said, panting slightly, "when I realised Stefan might be in danger…" his voice trailed off when he saw a large, grey wolf come running up behind Giovanni, growling and snarling angrily. Klaus bit Giovanni's hand, forcing him to drop his knife.

Margali did not have time to think, but quickly used her magic to attack Giovanni, blasting him with magical energy fuelled by all of her frustrations and fear for Stefan's safety. Giovanni was flung six feet in the air, and he was dead before he hit the ground.

There was a moment of complete silence, as the enormity of what Margali had done suddenly dawned on everyone present. Margali stared at Giovanni's lifeless form for what seemed like a lifetime, as she realised that she had been responsible for his death. She had not meant to kill him, she had simply wanted to get him as far away from Stefan as possible, but there was no way that he could have survived her magic, powered as it was by the force of all of her anger and frustration. She had killed animals before, but only when they had been very sick, in order to spare them suffering. But this had not been a mercy kill; this had been her using her magic in order to kill a fellow human being. She had done the right thing, hadn't she? After all, Giovanni had threatened her children; surely any mother would have done anything possible to protect her young. Still, as she stared at Giovanni's sightless eyes, the thought that she had actually killed a man was almost too much for her to be able to bear. She had read countless books and seen countless plays, where the hero had killed so many people without so much as a guilty thought about what he had done, and those tales suddenly seemed to be so incredibly unbelievable as to be almost chilling in their portrayal of murder. She shook her head, suddenly feeling very tired and weak, and sat down upon the ground.

Klaus suddenly howled at the moon, a low moan that signalled a recent death. Margali stared at him for a moment, and then put her head in her hands. "Klaus do be quiet," she said tiredly, "I am beginning to develop a headache."

Klaus transformed back into human form. "Sorry," he said, as he stared at Giovanni's body in a sort of morbid fascination, "but what should be done with that?"

Margali stared at Giovanni's lifeless body for a long moment, and then gave a mirthless laugh. "Leave it in the woods," she said; remembering Giovanni's own words, "the wolves and other wild things will take care of the body."

Margali picked up Stefan, who had started to cry, and touched his forehead lightly, sending him to a peaceful, dreamless sleep. She had learnt long ago not to take away her children's unpleasant memories; that they needed to learn that life could be harsh and dangerous, if they were to ever grow old enough to face a potentially hostile outside world. Still, she doubted that Stefan would be able to learn any valuable lessons from being threatened with Giovanni's knife, and so, ever so slowly, she used her magic to reach inside his mind, and remove the memory of what Giovanni had threatened to do to him. There would always be a small trace of darkness within him, a residual trace of darkness from where the horrible memory used to be, but Margali knew that Stefan was strong and tough enough to fight that darkness, and would always be stronger than that darkness could ever hope to be.

Tonino stared at Giovanni's body for a long moment, the colour draining from his face as he stared at the lifeless form. "Margali, what have you done?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Margali shook her head sadly. "I did what was necessary in order to protect my sons," she said, trying to convince herself as much as everyone else.

"Even so, I cannot believe my wife would kill…" Tonino's voice trailed off as he continued to stare at Giovanni's body.

Margali stared up at Tonino for a long moment, and then gave him a small, sad smile. "I have a daughter," she said quietly, "and two sons. I will do whatever is necessary in order to keep all of my children safe. I have three children, but only you can decide whether I also have a husband."

Tonino stared at her for a long moment, and then looked away, his eyes filling with tears. "I cannot have a wife who is a murderess," he said quietly, "I am sorry."

Margali merely nodded, and gave Tonino another small smile. "I understand," she said, standing up and placing a comforting hand upon Tonino's shoulder. "Our marriage has been strained for a very long time, perhaps this was what was necessary in order to finally break what should have been broken months ago," she said quietly, tears in her own eyes, "no hate, no anger. Go to Erika, if that is what it takes for you to be happy once more, return back to your homeland, if that is what is necessary for you to feel whole again. I hope that you can attain the happiness that it is clear I can no longer give to you," Margali swallowed her feelings of resentment as she spoke to Tonino, trying to convince herself that it was better for Tonino to be happy far away, than sad and close to her.

"What about the circus?" Klaus asked.

Magali sighed, and gave him a small smile. "If we hurry, we can be across the border by dawn," she said quietly, "we are travellers, wanderers, gypsies. It is in our nature to travel, so I doubt most people will be overly concerned about a travelling circus leaving before its allotted time."

"I guess I had better go and pack my things, then," Klaus muttered.

Margali shook her head. "No Klaus," she said calmly, "this life is not for you."

"You don't want me coming with you?" Klaus asked, suddenly sounding rather hurt. "Why, did I do something wrong?"

"Yes, why don't you want your 'errand boy' to come with you?" Tonino demanded. "Don't you two lovers want to spend time together?"

"I don't think of Margali that way!" Klaus replied. "She's really old!"

"Thank you, Klaus," Margali muttered sarcastically, "that is just what I wanted to hear right now."

"Um," said Klaus, suddenly going slightly red, "I guess I could have expressed that better," he admitted.

Margali shook her head, and gave him another small smile. "Your meaning, if not your words, were clearly expressed," she assured him, "and to answer your earlier question, it is not that you did anything wrong." She sighed. "When I was in the _Seven Rooks_, I overhead snippets of conversations. It could well be that your parents miss you as much as you miss them."

"I don't understand," Klaus admitted.

Margali merely sighed again. "What your parents did to you was neither fair, nor right, and you had a very good reason to run away from them," she said, "but hate and anger only cause more hate and anger," for a brief moment, she stared at Giovanni's body, and shivered ever so slightly, before turning her attention back to Klaus once more, "far better to travel the path of mercy and forgiveness, at least, when there is a chance that fractured relationships can yet be mended." She turned her attention back to Tonino, and gave him another small, sad smile.

"I'm still not sure that I understand," admitted Klaus.

"Give your parents a second chance," she told him, and handed him a small pouch of money, "if things do not work out, there is enough money in there to hire a coach and come to our circus once more. The details of where we will next be setting up are also in there," she explained.

Klaus opened the pouch uncertainly, and his eyes widened when he looked inside it. "So much?" he asked.

Margali nodded. "Since Kurti joined our act, we have made huge profits in our circus, in there is your fair share, no more, no less," she said.

"Thank you," said Klaus gratefully.

Margali nodded. "Besides, I need you – the wolf within you – to call down the wolves that live on the mountains, so that they can deal with that," she pointed at Giovanni's body, "but not until the circus has left here."

"I understand," said Klaus.

Margali smiled at him. "You really should go and get packed, though," she said, "you have a long day ahead of you, and I want to be away from this place as soon as possible."

Klaus nodded, and returned to his caravan, where he packed his meagre possessions, and prepared for his long journey home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes: This is the final, very short, chapter of "The Foundling". I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to all of those people who have supported me in writing this, and my other stories, especially those who have added me to their favourites/author alerts, and/or reviewed. I always appreciate any and all feedback. Finally, I hope you all have a happy Easter, or culturally equivalent holiday. Thanks again. Knightcrawler. **

_Epilogue - The wolf and the wolf pack_

Klaus watched sadly as the circus left, slowly vanishing into the distance. He did not want to return home, but he trusted Margali, and so decided that he really should give his parents a second chance. Klaus felt a slight twinge of jealousy, when he realised that Kurti seemed to have found a happy family. Klaus realised that, if the little blue mutant could be happy anywhere, surely he could be happy at Margali's circus, with a loving and protective adoptive family. Klaus smiled silently to himself. Perhaps his own family could one day learn to be so accepting of his own mutation, his own ability, his own special talent. He concentrated on the lessons Shiro had taught him, and changed into a wolf. He howled at the moon, and watched as the pack of wolves came down from the mountains. They dragged Giovanni's body away, where it would be consumed by the pack. Although the human part of Klaus felt disgusted by this, the wolf within him felt that it was right that the dead body should be used to give strength and life to other beings, that nothing should be wasted. Klaus nodded once to the leader of the wolf pack, an acknowledgement as equals, an acceptance of the gratefully received gift of meat from one wolf to another, nothing more and nothing less. As he watched the wolf pack return to the mountains, Klaus changed back into human form once more. He picked up the money pouch that Margali had given to him, mere hours before, and smiled slightly to himself as he felt its weight. Well, at least if his parents refused to accept him for who he was, he would have enough money to be able to return to Margali's circus once more. He gave a small sigh, as he reluctantly returned back to his home village, because at some level he already knew that it would be many years before he ever saw Margali again.


End file.
